The Zero Blindness that Burns
by mjp03
Summary: Mifune Yukiko: (literally) blind, bratty, rude. NOTE: Object of the Child of God's interest. Tennis coach of Rikkaidai. (YukimuraxOC) CH 18: /Without You/ Yukiko slid open the door silently. Not that there was anyone for her to wake. She approached the bed, and bent down to brush her lips against Sho's.
1. The New Blind Girl

The first time Seiichi had ever seen her was in a hospital where Seiichi had went there once for a body check-up. The meeting was abrupt and short.

Seiichi peered down the white hall of the hospital, and wondered which one was Doctor Oshitari's. Just then, he felt something hit his foot. Looking down, he found a black and white cane with a red tip shuffling around his shoe.

It was a girl who hit him. A girl with silver hair braided up in thin strands, wearing a white one-piece summer dress and dark, dark shades.

It wasn't sunny.

The girl appeared to be blind. She mumbled a 'sorry', and kept walking, her cane whacking left and right down the hall.

That was the simple meeting that they shared, a meeting both soon forgot afterwards.

The second meeting was a bit longer.

* * *

It was a very beautiful day at Rikkaidai. The cherry blossoms fell like snow, and the pale pink petals decorated the ground. They were easily the most beautiful cherry blossoms in the whole of Kanagawa, with the help of the old gardener, Kashigawa-san, who often shared a few chats with Seiichi.

It was quite early in the morning -just six o'clock, in fact- that there was almost no one in the school. Seiichi stood beside his classroom window for a while to take in the pretty flowers. He had always had a soft spot for gardening, and beautiful flowers tended to hold his interest.

There was a dog barking behind him. Surprised, Seiichi turned his head to the noise. He saw a really tall boy, wearing some sort of white jersey, with black skin and white scruffy hair. But it was the girl who held his interest. The girl had silver hair slightly longer than shoulder length, thin strands of her hair braided up. Despite that it was a bit cloudy that day, she still wore dark shades. She was stroking a golden retriever, and laughed when it licked her face.

After a while, she kissed the golden retriever and stood up. The boy standing beside her automatically handed her a black and white striped cane with a red tip. A blind man's cane.

"Good boy, Google. Stay." The silver-haired girl commanded Google, the golden retriever. Then, gripping the white-haired boy's arm, the boy carefully guided her into the school, not without the cane's tip clacking against the floor.

Seiichi felt a strong sense of familiarity towards the mysterious, blind, silver-haired girl, but he couldn't make heads nor tails of those feelings. He turned away from the window to find his childhood friend standing at the doorway, waiting expectantly.

Seiichi smiled at Sanada, took up his tennis bag and walked out the door for morning practice.

* * *

Kirihara was in big trouble. He'd fallen asleep on the bus -yet, again- and found himself in the middle of nowhere. He somehow managed to follow the bus stop signs and made his way back into the city, and was taking a taxi to fly back to school. He'd left house this morning extra early, just to be sure not to get on Sanada-fukubuchou's bad side on the very first day of school. The universe just loves making fun of him. And Sanada-fukubuchou was going to murder him.

When the taxi pulled up at Rikkai Dai Fuzoku, Kirihara thrust the taxi driver the money, and without waiting for the change, he dashed for the gate, only to find the disciplinary teacher, Kanda-sensei standing there, looking none too pleased.

"Well, Kirihara-kun. It's you again. I hope you're not using the same feeble excuse that you fell asleep on the bus. Anyone with brains won't believe you." Kanda-sensei pushed up his glasses. "Come with me to the principal room. The principal should very much like to see the first latecomer of the year. I swear you must have broken our school's record of coming to school late so many times."

Principal Yoshizawa was not very nice, but he was tolerant. He tolerated Niou-senpai the time he spread a false alarm of fire and the whole school missed half a day, waiting for the firemen to arrive and check the whole school thoroughly. He tolerated Marui-senpai when he was found trafficking sweets into school and making money off them. He tolerated the time Sanada-fukubuchou accidentally slapped the principal when he meant to hit Kirihara, but Kirihara dodged and the slap landed on poor Principal Yoshizawa who had come down to observe the tennis training.

Principal Yoshizawa was an old man who loved tennis, which was why he often tolerated the tennis team which caused more trouble than any other sports team in the school. Or perhaps it was because the tennis team was the only team that managed to secure two consecutive champions in the Nationals. Other sports team claimed awards, but none able to achieve two golds in a row.

But if there was one thing the tolerant, tennis lover principal could never tolerate, it was latecomers. And when people say 'not very nice', they mean the ninth circle of hell. And Kirihara tried not to gulp.

When they entered the principal's office, there was already a girl sitting there, with silver hair braided into thin strands. "Oh, Kanda. What has Kirihara-kun done again?" The principal chuckled. It appeared that he was in a peculiar good mood.

Kanda-sensei was not very enthusiastic to report. "Kirihara-kun here was late today. Again. On the first day of school. This is his eighty-third time."

"You can leave now, Kanda." The principal waved a hand, and Kanda-sensei left.

"Kirihara-kun. Punctuality is one of the virtues we honor most here at Rikkai. I wish you will learn to respect that in the future days. Now, if you will, please sit down right beside here." Principal Yoshizawa gestured to the seat beside the silver-haired girl who has made movement up until now. "Well, since you're both here, and you're from the same class, I might as well introduce you two. Kirihara-kun, this is Mifune Yukiko-san. Mifune-san, this is Kirihara Akaya-kun. As you can see, Mifune-san suffers from blindness, and requires someone to show her around before she knows the way. Kirihara-kun, can I trust you to be her chaperone? Show her around, and take care of her. Today's a big day for new students, aye? Now, hop along, you two youngsters. And don't wander off somewhere else. Your classroom is 2-D, don't forget!"

Much to Kirihara's surprise, Mifune did not appear to require an accompaniment. In fact, she seemed to fend for herself pretty well. Kirihara just had to tell her to go left or right and she would turn accurately.

"So, Mifune-san, have you decided which club you're going to join yet?" Kirihara fired an attempt at conversation with the girl. He was a bit afraid to touch a sensitive nerve and piss the blind girl off. He decided clubs were a neutral topic.

"I don't see how that is any of your business." Mifune replied coolly. "And no, I haven't given it much thought."

Kirihara decided that he officially sucked at making communication with blind girls. "What about hobbies? What do you like to do?" Hobbies were another neutral topic, Kirihara decided.

"Tennis." Mifune said simply. Kirihara was dumbstruck. Then he burst out laughing.

"Tennis? Mifune-san, how do you play tennis when you can't see? Don't kid with me. I'm one of the best tennis players in Japan, you know." Kirihara said smugly. Suddenly, Mifune stopped in her tracks, and ripped off her dark shades. Her cloudy, white eyes seemed to bore into Kirihara's. "Do you know who you're talking to?" She said dangerously, intimidating Kirihara. At the moment, class 2-D's door slid open, revealing a not amused Kobayashi-sensei standing there. In a quick flash, Mifune's shades were back on, once again hiding her blind eyes.

Kobayashi-sensei crossed his arms. "Ah, there you are. I've been waiting for ages. Now, class, we have a new student…"

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, that was a really bad ending. But I really hope you're enjoy this. The second chapter's coming out really soon, so please stick with me.**

**Oh, and if you hadn't already known, I have another story, Broken Genius. If you want to, you can go and take a look.**


	2. Rikkai's Tennis Team

**Author's Note: Okay, this chapter is like a bridge to the next chapter, so don't expect it to be really exciting. I'm just using this chapter to make the next one smooth, and don't worry, I'm gonna update soon! :)**

* * *

Since it was the first day, school ended pretty early. The club selection session starts after school this year, and Kirihara was still trying to make something out of the sentence she said that morning.

_ "Do you know who you're talking to?" _Kirihara had not forgotten the ferociousness of her voice then.

Mifune frowned at him as she noticed that the boy had drifted off to la-la-land. "Kirihara-kun, school's over, or did you not notice? Did you hear what I was saying?"

Kirihara snapped out of his thoughts, and said cheerfully. "Sorry, guess I blinked out for a minute there. What'd you say?"

"I asked you which club you're in. Or are you just one of those freelancing dudes who don't join any clubs?" Mifune started to get up from her seat, reaching blindly for her bag. Kirihara handed it to her and smirked.

"I might not seem it, but I'm a regular on the tennis team. The second-year ace of Rikkai's unbeatable tennis team." He boasted as the two of hem proceeded slowly down the stairs, one step at a time.

Mifune wrinkled her nose. "Really? Are you any good?"

"I just told you I'm the ace of the team, or are you deaf as well?"

"Well, if the level of your team isn't all that high, then being the ace doesn't really mean anything, does it?" Mifune smirked teasingly.

Kirihara nodded absently, then remembering she couldn't see, he hastily said, "You play tennis, right, Mifune-san? Why don't you play against me to see how good I am? Or the team is?"

"Not if you want to keep you butts on." Mifune licked her dry lips. They have just reached the bottom of the staircases. There were a crowd of people lining up for signups. "You can call me Yukiko, you know. We're gonna be sticking together for a period of time." Then her face scrunched up. "Is there a large crowd in front of us? I hear a lot of noises...and I can smell sweat. Ugh." She pinched her nose. "C'mon. Gimme your arm. My stupid cane will kill everyone if I use it here. So be a good chaperone and guide me through this mess." She sniffed, retracted her cane and extended an arm reluctantly. "oh, and it's bloody hot. Fetch me an umbrella."

Kirihara's eyebrow twitched, but complied on the account that she was a poor blind girl who desperately needed his help. Pushing past a sea of people, they finally managed to reach the tennis club's signup area. Kirihara started to guide Yukiko towards the girl's section, but Yukiko tugged on his blazer.

"In case you didn't know, I'm going to the men's tennis club." Her dark shades reflected the sunlight that stung Kirihara's eyes.

"The men's?" Kirihara asked incredulously. "You are aware that you are a woman, right? A blind one, at that."

"Just shut up and bring me to the stall. Or I'll yell out loud that you just taped me. And you'll be considered a rapist with two black marks on your first day of school." Rendered without any choice, Kirihara brought Yukiko to Rikkai's strongest team through the backside into the officials' area.

"Oi, Bakaya, where'd you go?" Marui nearly pounced on the seaweed-haired boy when he saw him. "Your shift started fifteen minutes ago! Sanada-fukubuchou is going to kill you! We're working like mad dogs here, and you've gone flirting with a girl?"

"Ah, Marui-senpai! I'm supposed to take care of her! She's blind!" Kirihara protested as the redhead tried to drag him to his station.

"Who's blind?" A cool and smooth voice rang out. Rikkai's number one player, Yukimura, was looking at the girl with peculiar eyes, as if she were something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Mura-buchou! I just caught Seaweed Hair trying to skip shift!" Marui immediately reported.

"Buchou, it isn't like that! This girl is blind, and I'm supposed to look after her!" Kirihara tried to explain.

Yukiko spoke up, "If you're going to find an excuse, don't use me. I can take perfect care of myself, thank you very much."

Yukimura smiled at the girl, who took no notice. "I'm Yukimura Seiichi. And you are?"

The blind girl found the direction of the voice and smirked confidently. "So you're the legendary Child of God I've heard so much about. I'm Mifune Yukiko, but just Yukiko, please."

"Mifune Yukiko...?" Yanagi Renji had appeared out of nowhere, standing next to Yukimura, his fingers tapping his chin. "I swear..." But he didn't get a chance to finish before Yukiko interrupted.

"Wait a second," The girl seemed a bit incredulous and was leaning her ear heavily towards Yanagi, "is that...a _robot_? The voice totally sounds like one. I swear it must be a robot, right, Kirihara?"

Kirihara tried hard not to laugh. Yanagi seemed a little offended. "Yukiko-chan, that's not a robot. That's the Data Master of our team, Yanagi Renji-senpai."

Yukiko seemed even more confused now. "A man? That's a...man?!"

"Yukiko-san, we're all men here." Yukimura tried to soothe the girl.

"Wait a minute, even you?!" Yukiko jabbed a finger at Yukimura. "You're a GUY? Oh my God!"

"Well, our team does have a surprisingly feminine captain." Kirihara shrugged, forgetting the girl couldn't see.

"Jesus." Yukiko made a face. "Your team has a really large range of voices."

"You're all going soft in the knees! What happened to work?" Sanada roared, his thunderous voice temporarily deafened poor Kirihara. "Kirihara! Get over here or I'll skin you alive!" Kirihara gulped.

"Y-Y-Yukimura-buchou, I'm counting on you to take care of Yukiko-chan! Coming, fukubuchou!"

The rest of the tennis team regulars turned onto Yukiko.

"Heh, you're Yukiko-chan? You're blind? I'm Marui Bunta. I'm a third-year here at Rikkai."

"Yukiko-san, do you need to sit down? We have a chair over here, in case you're tired." The Gentleman offered a yellow plastic chair.

Just as Jackal was trying to serve the girl a drink, Yukiko finally burst out irritatedly, "OK, guys! I'm blind, but I'm not a doll! And I can do that myself, too." She added, trying to grasp for the yellow chair, but only grabbing thin air. Yukimura sighed.

"I'll look after her. You all can help Sanada out." Yukimura smiled as he took hold of the girl gently, and led her away from the commotion.

They sat down on a bench under tree shade, when Yukiko spoke up. "Sorry for mistaking you for a girl. I mean, you sounded like one, and I couldn't tell, because, well, you know."

Yukimura nodded, then caught himself. He'd already forgotten she was blind. "It's alright. People do that all the time. Even people who can see." Yukimura smiled, despite that Yukiko could not see the smile.

"Really?" She sounded a bit hopeful. "So it's no biggie, right?"

"Yep. No big deal." Yukimura reassured her. The girl broke out a smile. She seemed a little more lively.

"So you play tennis? Mr. Child of God? You know, I totally thought Child of God was a girl before." Yukiko grinned. Yukimura noticed that when she talked, she always faced him, like she knew exactly where his face was. It was probably that which led to people constantly forgetting that she was blind. Her dark shades flashed under the sunlight.

"Yeah, I play tennis. You wanna play? Can you?"

Yukiko tilted her head. "Many people think blind people aren't capable of doing any type of sport. Blind guys aren't weak. They just had their eyesight taken away. Tennis is just about chasing a ball around the courts, and with suitable sound training, even blind people can play tennis, Child of God."

"You can play tennis?" Yukimura smiled. "Care for a short match? I'll go easy."

Yukiko waved his offer away. "Nah. You wouldn't want to lose to a blind girl."

Yukimura seemed even more interested. "Such confidence."

Yukiko grinned. "Who do you think I am?"


	3. Blind Tennis

**Author's Note: Okay, this was really bad. Please don't kill me for this. I thought I'd show off Yukiko's tennis skills... Anyway, enjoy! (Seriously, you have been warned. This is by far the worst piece of THING I have ever written)**

* * *

"Game and match, Mifune, 6-0!" Yukimura, as the referee, called out. But his voice barely escaped trembling in shock. On the courts, Yukiko stood on one side, unbeaten and confident, expression triumphant. On the other side, Sanada kneeled on the ground, legs weak and arms numb. Sanada?

** Okay, okay, guys. Pause. Let's rewind back to where we stopped last time.**

"You can play tennis?" Yukimura smiled. "Care for a short match? I'll go easy."

Yukiko waved his offer away. "Nah. You wouldn't want to lose to a blind girl."

Yukimura seemed even more interested. "Such confidence."

Yukiko grinned. "Who do you think I am?"

Just then, a low deep voice from behind boomed out. "I know who you are. You are a distraction to our teammates, that's who you are."

Yukimura turned in surprise. "Sanada-"

Yukiko made a face. "I don't know who you are with the super bass voice, but I'm not gonna stand people who make fun of me and try to squash me flat, dude."

"You have caused Kirihara to become late and the other teammates to become distracted. I shall not tolerate anyone who behaves so recklessly." Sanada narrowed his eyes.

"Well, aren't you confident." Yukiko smirked. "Why don't we do a small match now, just to settle things? I'm sure you are not as cowardly as to run from a girl's challenge."

Sanada nodded. "Sounds good to me. But, if I win, you will promise not to cause anymore disturbance to the team, and stay away from us."

"And if I win, you will have to let me..." There was an evil glint in Yukiko's blind eyes as she paused, "tease you for the rest of your life and never talk back to me. You will be my slave. Deal?"

Sanada blinked, then stuck out his hand, but Yukiko did not notice nor take it. "Deal."

"Sanada, I don't think-" Yukimura started, but Sanada held up a hand.

"Yukimura. This is a battle for pride. Please let us do this." Yukimura looked at Sanada for a while, then sighed.

"You're going to do this whether I give permission or not, yes, Genichirou?" Yukimura spoke softly.

"Worry not. I shall not permit any nuisance to exist among the team. We will claim our third consecutive win at the Nationals and there must be no distraction that will break our focus!" Sanada roared a war cry and walked towards the courts, leaving Yukimura and Yukiko behind. Yukimura sighed and started to walk as well, but there was a small tug at his jersey that held him back.

"You forgot again?" Yukiko smirked. "I'm a poor blind girl who can't see, remember? Moreover, I have never been to this place before, and it is only suitable for a Child of God to escort me gentlemanly to where the match will take place, aye?"

Yukimura laughed at this and took her arm. "Very well, my blind princess."

"You are going to wear that?" Sanada stared at the white one-piece light dress that was a bit loose around Yukiko's body. Yukiko was wearing a

"Got a problem with that, ThunderHorse?" Yukiko raised an eyebrow, as if challenging him to rebuke her.

"No." Sanada shook out the incredulous feeling. "Which?"

"Smooth, please!" The racket fell to the ground. Sanada took one look and frowned.

"Your serve."

"Looks like you are destined to be my slave, Mr. ThunderHorse. I don't lose when I serve first." Yukiko smirked. Sanada gave a stoic glare, which Yukiko did not catch.

"We'll see." He narrowed his eyes and went into place. Yukimura placed a hand on his chin, smiling at the two. _This will be quite interesting._

YUKIKO PoV

People think blind people are weak and can't do anything. They are wrong.

I may not be able to do everything perfectly like a whole person can, but then, I'm a far cry from normal. But tennis is something I can do better than anyone. It is something I can do better than myself.

I kicked off my shoes, and shimmied off my socks. My bare toes scratched the ground hungrily, yearning for action. It recognized the scent of the tennis court.

The moment I started to walk, my grandfather thrusted a tennis ball and a racket into my hand and made me play. It took a very long time, but eventually, I began to 'see' the tennis ball with my ears. All movement produces sound. The trick is to capture that sound and calculate where it will go. This isn't easy for most blind people, but I've been trained for almost a decade for this. And I wasn't about to lose to a sexist punk.

Ah, serving. Serving a ball was one of the hardest things I had to learn. It was extremely difficult to toss a ball straight up and manage to hit it without my sight. I did that just now.

"15-0!" I smirked. I can almost see ThunderHorse's astonished face. Take that, you sexist pig! I served again. Serving was second nature. The flow of movements was as natural as breathing. The posture of it was hammered into my brain by my dear grandfather, who's about as sweet a chili and as soft as a rock.

"Game, 1-0! Mifune leads."

I readied my racket and tried to tune out other noises. It was like trying to find a pin in a haystack, but eventually I found it. The familiar whiz and swishing of the tennis ball. My legs carried me to the left, and my arm drew back.

"15-0!" Yup, another point for Yukiko. I rock!

"Swift like the wind!" A voice boomed and I winced. The speed of it was quite astonishing when I caught the trajectory of the ball. I heard a few 'hms' and gasps as I caught up with the ball and hit it back. I heard two consecutive bounces of the ball and no swing of racket, and smiled at my temporary victory. My speed is faster, it seems, ThunderHorse-kun.

"30-0!"

"Oi, oi, she returned Sanada's Wind!" Someone whispered. Probably that boy Kirihara. I'd recognize his childlike voice anywhere. "It was so fast I couldn't even see it! How the bloody hell...?"

"Hmm," Ah, Robot-kun has the answer. I smiled as I positioned myself for another fiery assault from ThunderHorse. "Perhaps she was able to return it _because_ she cannot see. The trickery in it Wind is unraveled by that. With other factors included, it is possible that she uses her other senses to 'see' the ball. To what extent, I cannot tell. But with this taken into account, it is safe to assume Sanada's other moves which involves tricking the eyes cannot deceive her, for example, the Invisible Swing."

Ah, that seems like an appropriate explanation... I thought absently as I hit another point.

"5-0! Mifune to serve!"

From the other side, I could hear a low growl. Apparently, ThunderHorse is pretty pissed that none of special moves were working.

"Strike, like lightening!" Sanada roared. I frowned as my feet nearly flew off the ground as I swung my racket hard against the ball, and I could feel the strings on the racket threatening to break. Clenching my teeth, I slid the ball with great balance to the metal frame of the racket and managed to get the ball over the net.

I grinned. Exhilarating, it was, to stun the audience. I called out, "You call that a lightening, ThunderHorse? Try again, sucker!"

"I can't believe this... Not even Lightening worked!"

"Even the Emperor can't beat her... Who the hell is this girl?"

"She's _blind_, how the hell did she do that?"

I smirked. I liked it, when people grew shocked at my tennis. I liked the rush of smugness, the punch of excitement, and the desire to shock them even further. You call it vainness, I call it euphoria.

"30-0! Mifune leads!" Gosh, I can even hear ThunderHorse's ragged breathing all the way from over here, I'm not even sweating here. How pathetic.

In the sting of adrenaline, I yelled out to ThunderHorse, "Mr. ThunderHorse? Would you like a leash when you become my slave? I'll get a pink one with dozens of rhinestones on it for you, _just _perfect for you." Simply the imagination of the owner of the grumbly husky voice wearing a pink rhinestone leash was enough to send the spectators into firs of laughter. My euphoria grew.

"Game and match, Mifune, 6-0!" Yukimura, as the referee, called out. But his voice barely escaped trembling in shock. On the courts, Yukiko stood on one side, unbeaten and confident, expression triumphant. On the other side, Sanada kneeled on the ground, legs weak and arms numb. Sanada, the Emperor, lost _this _bad to a _blind_ girl?

My smugness reached its peak. "My dear ThunderHorse-san, your slavery and loyalty towards me starts now. Please wear a tutu to your next tennis practice."

* * *

**Author's Note: Well...? How was it? I suppose it was terrible, wasn't it? I suck horribly at writing tennis matches, so please don't expect to do any more of this. This took me a week to write, and look at how that turned out. Please do review and tell me how I've done... I promise, the next chapter will be much much much better (partly coz it won't contain much tennis action). Please stick with me! (begs)**


	4. The Blind Coach?

**Author's note: This is short, but I am fairly confident in my work this time. This may be quite boring, but plays quite an essential part in the plot, so please read this through! Read, enjoy, and do review!**

* * *

"I told you, I don't need anyone to send me home!" Yukiko and the Rikkai tennis regulars were sharing a heated debate of whether blind, poor Mifune Yukiko should be accompanied home. "I have a chaperone! Which isn't you, Bakaya!"

"My dear Yukiko-san," Yagyuu began, "you are a delicate-" that word earned a kick in shin from Yukiko, which Yagyuu tried to ignore, "-lady, and it a gentleman's job to see a lady safely back home. Not to mention that you do not have your eyesight. The streets of Kanagawa are not always safe at this time of the day." Then he proceeded to rub the red spot where Yukiko had just kicked.

"Have you all become deaf? I have a chaperone!" Yukiko looked close to pulling her hair out.

"I think we should be the judges of whether your chaperone is safe enough." Yukimura tapped a finger against his chin, and winced when Yukiko stomped her heel on his foot accurately, squashing his toes.

She tossed a few strands of her silver hair over her shoulder, and scowled. "Fine. Will you leave me alone after that? I am very capable of walking myself home."

"After we take a look at your chaperone, piyo," Niou smirked.

Glaring at thin air, Yukiko drew out a silver whistle and blew. It made a loud screeching noise. People walking by winced and stared at her. A minute passed.

"Yukiko-chan, are you sure-" Marui began, but just then a golden retriever appeared from the corner and bounded towards the girl and pounced on her licking her face.

"Down, Google! Down!" She giggled as she tried to escape from the saliva attack. The dog only complied after staining her uniform, which she did not mind at all. "Hey guys, meet my chaperone. This is Google, my dog. And Google, these are the bad guys who you never should get close to." Yukiko grinned.

It was exactly ten seconds before any of the regulars moved. Jackal was the first to move. "Your chaperone, you meant your...dog?" The dog, who was currently chewing on the bark of a random tree thoughtfully before swallowing it in one gulp. And burped satisfyingly.

"Not just any dog," Yukiko protested, "he's a _seeing eye dog_, probably more capable than any of you." She jabbed a finger at a random direction, threatening anyone to contradict her.

"Right. More capable." Sanada stared at the dog incredulously. Google was chasing his own tail around and around, his furry tail whacking Marui and Kirihara straight in face, who had crouched down to get a good look at the dog.

Yukiko put a hand over her heart, the other hand resting against her forehead dramatically. "Never judge a dog by its look." She preached. "Google has memorized a lot of routes for me, you dummies. He knows the way home, to school, the park etcetera etcetera. He buys my stuff for me, idiots." She pulled out something out of her bulky bag and started to attach it onto the dog. It resembled something like a handle. Yanagi bent down to help her with it.

"I still think one of us should follow you home, just in case." Yukimura looked dubiously at Google, the golden retriever.

Yukiko groaned. "_Fine_. But don't let me know you're there. Or I might not be able to resist the urge to kill you."

Surprisingly, the cheerful dog seemed pretty capable, as it led its owner around obstacles and barked at anyone who looked suspicious. They arrived at a skyscraper, where a man in a suit promptly refused the tennis regulars entry. Yukimura looked helplessly through the glass at the blind girl who wore a small smirk on her face as she entered the elevator.

* * *

It was lunch break, and Yukiko was spending her lunch with Sanada Genichirou under the cherry blossoms, per her direct orders.

The speaker cackled. _"Ah, will Mifune Yukiko-san of class 2-D and Yukimura Seiichi-kun of class 3-C please proceed to the principal's office? Principal Yoshizawa would like to see the two of you. Thank you." _Yukiko frowned at the notice.

"ThunderHorse-kun, help me." The command was short but powerful. Sanada stiffened, then shuddered in defeat. He was a man of his word after all. He handed the girl her walking cane, took hold of her arm gently and the two of them walked slowly back into the school.

"Thank you, Sanada-kun." Principal Yoshizawa gave a small smile. "You may leave now." Yukiko raised a eyebrow and Sanada complied.

"Principal, what did you call us here for?" Yukimura asked.

"That is a very good question." The principal nodded. "Rikkai's tennis team is the only team in the school lacking a coach, yes?" Before Yukimura could utter a protest, Principal Yoshizawa raised a hand, silencing the boy. "Please do let me continue. I am not doubting your abilities to lead the tennis team, Yukimura-kun, for you have already claimed the championships twice already. Yukimura-kun, this is your last year of middle school for you, and the last year for you to participate in the middle school Nationals with your fellow teammates. I know that you have taken the responsibility upon yourself to coach the team, and that you have not been able take time to train yourself properly."

Yukimura grew quiet. It was true, very true indeed. So true that he could not believe that the principal had been able to notice it. He enjoyed tennis very much, but as the captain, he had no choice but to step back and lead his team. He had to make his choices as a captain, in order for Rikkai to win.

The principal did not stop there, "which is why, I have arranged for a coach to assist you. I have done a little investigation, and with a few connections and phone calls," he chuckled, "I managed to obtain your best candidate for Rikkai's tennis coach. It is Mifune-san." Yukiko gaped, apparently new at this information as well.

"My apologies, Principal, but I believe the team is very capable-" Yukimura began, but did not manage to finish before the old man shut him up again.  
"My dear Yukimura-kun, it is not the matter of your capability, I repeat." He said firmly. "I wish for you to enjoy your last year at Rikkai Dai Fuzoku. You have brought honor to our school for two years now, and I would like to repay in my own way. Please acknowledge that. This is my gift to you, Sanada-kun and Yanagi-kun who have served the team so passionately and selflessly for the previous two years. I _insist_." And that left no space for argument.

For Yukimura, anyway.

"Excuse me? Principal, why was I not informed of this beforehand?" Yukiko demanded, her fist slamming onto the desk, her dark shades glaring threateningly at the old principal.

Poor Principal Yoshizawa tried to appease the girl on fire. "You see, Mifune-san..." his voice grew into a hushed whisper, "...your other mission...can only let you do that if...remember the deal...a favor...enter Rikkai...investigation..." Yukiko's face grew from agitated to frustrated. After a few minutes of struggling and silent arguing, she finally agreed reluctantly to the proposal as the principal clasped his hands together in delight.

"Thank you, Mifune-san!" He beamed. "I am sure you will get along well with the tennis team!"

Yukiko muttered something unintelligible that sounded like 'crafty old bastard'.

* * *

**Author's note: Okay, so to clear some stuff up: I am making Yukiko particularly strong for a particular reason, and a very reasonable reason at that. This story will continue into the newest Prince of Tennis manga, the New Prince of Tennis. So read the manga or watch the anime, because part of this will be connected to that. Cheers! Review!**


	5. Resolution

**Author's note: Howdy, people! It's been, what, a month since I last updated? Well, I'm pleased to tell you that I am alive and well (and most definitely alive), and back in business. I'm totally totally sorry for the super long update, but I have a really reasonable reason for this. I've been on vacation for a week, and had literally no Internet access. Plus, I've been bedridden with a stupid virus, puking everything from food to guts out. It really doesn't improve one's inspiration, to tell the truth.**

* * *

"Inoue-senpai?" Shiba asked as Inoue drove down the road, "Where are we going?"

Inoue smiled. "Kanagawa."

"Kanagawa where?"

"They say a school there got a new coach. We're going there to cover it."

Shiba blinked. "Which school?"

"Rikkaidai."

* * *

When the two reached the courts, each holding a camera and a notebook, they found a boy with messy black hair, panting heavily as he jogged towards them.

"Who are you, mister?" The boy blinked. "Outsiders can't come here, you know."

"Oh, we're reporters from Monthly Pro Tennis," Inoue introduced themselves as he showed the boy his card. "We're here to cover the new coach." The boy nodded, as if this made sense to him at all.

"Our coach is playing a match with one of the senpais now. You'll have to wait until she's done before you can do your interview." The boy said as he led them to the courts. He yelled, "Sanada-fukubuchou! There's someone here!" The stoic vice-captain tore his eyes from the coach's match with the Master and walked up to the three.

"Kirihara, finished you laps already? Go watch the coach's match." He commanded. Then he turned to Shiba and Inoue. "I am Sanada Genichirou, vice-captain of the tennis team. I see you are reporters? Here to cover our new coach?" He nodded at their equipment. "The principal told me. Come. You can watch the match before interviewing. This is her second match at Rikkaidai. She's going against Niou." Somehow, Sanada shrugged uncomfortably, as if the mention of the girl's matches scared him. Shiba cocked her head confusedly.

* * *

Niou was panting desperately for air. The girl on the other side wasn't even so much as letting out a heavy breath, dammit. All of his illusions were unbelievably ineffective against the girl. Damn blindness. He'd tried everything, really. Every single tennis regular, he had impersonated, but it was useless against the blind girl, because, for obvious reasons, she couldn't even _see_ his illusion work, for god's sake. It was as if he was the only one running around the courts in ragged breathing.

Jesus_ Christ_, that girl can _run._ By listening to the sound of the tennis ball, Niou assumed, she distinguishes and defines the ball, the spin and the speed and catches up with it. She didn't have a lot of strength, to be honest, but her technique and skill was polished like glass. Using her racket and different angles, she alleviates the power of the ball and returns them with ease. Her speed and stamina was excellent as well, not even panting heavily after thirty minutes of running all around the court.

Talking about running, if that damn girl could see, she'd probably be scouted for the track team. Those legs propelled themselves like a machine, good Lord. She could _run_. Niou had never known a person with such disabilities less discouraged and weakened by their own disabilities. Blind Mifune Yukiko was running, and she made other normal people feel like they were crawling.

He gave up chasing the ball and dropped to his knees, giving in to utter exhaustion. The shot flew past him, acing the winning point. Thirty minutes worth of scrambling over the court, chasing a ball he couldn't get past the opposite court, and not even earning a single point. This is pathetic. He'd never lost so badly, not even against Yukimura.

"Game and match, Mifune, 6-0!" The referee, a non-regular whose name was not important enough for Niou to remember, called out the score. The hard realization that he had lost hit Niou like a pill, made him feel bitter and a bit high. Bitter, he'd lost so pathetically and he must have looked so lame, chasing a small neon green ball that only led to his own destruction. High, because there was finally an opponent out there that was really worth his time. Niou had never given thought to winning; he wasn't afraid of the vice-captain's harsh ferociousness that drove all the other members to victory. Against the Three Monster, he fended well, and that alone gave him mild satisfaction and no motivation.

Never in his life had he lost so badly, so horribly in anything. Not in tennis, not in academics, not in trickery, not in gaming. And he could not stand to be humiliated like that. He would avenge his loss. He would defeat that girl, standing over him like a smug, triumphant empress who had just condemned her arch enemy to execution.

Niou stood up, ignoring the creak and tremble in his knees, and smirked. That smirk took every single drop of energy in him to swallow down his pride. "The name's Niou Masaharu. Remember it. It's the name of the person who's gonna beat you so bad you'll go crying back to your mama."

Yukiko flashed her dimpled smile, confidence completely unwavering by the bold declaration of challenge. "Masaharu is too long for me to remember, I'm afraid. I think I'll call you...Haruharu. Cute, eh?" Niou barely managed to force down his embarrassment at the new nickname.

Kirihara, on the bleachers, clenched his fists hard. Niou-senpai, the senpai even the Three Monsters dealt with troublesomely, the senpai who constantly annoyed him but couldn't help but awe him, was defeated. By 6-0. Not even winning a single point.

Yukimura, recognizing the glint in the sophomore's eyes, smiled. It was nostalgic, seeing that glint appear again. _Akaya, opened your eyes to a new boulder in your path?_ He remembered seeing that glint in his eyes a year ago, the glint that made his decision to nurture the boy, the glint that relieved him to know that the future captain would always be aiming higher. And he was aiming higher right now.

"My slave, my servant!" Yukiko yelled from the courts. "Where are you, you disloyal bastard?" Sanada, standing beside the two reporters, stiffened. Inoue and Shiba stared in wonder as the boy underwent significant changes.

His face turned red, then to a nasty shade of purple. He gritted his teeth, and his hand gripped the metal railing tightly. His hair stood up at their ends, and he gave an involuntary shudder. Finally, when every feature of his body has relaxed as much as it ever could, Sanada took the steps down the the courts, escorted the girl to the bench and helped her with her shoes. Shiba could faintly see the hard grimace set to Sanada's jaw as he helped the girl.

When Yukiko was done, Sanada muttered a few words into her ear as the two walked up the steps one at a time. "They'll have to wait. We're training right now, or are they blind as well? Tell them to wait until I'm done here, or they can find themselves another person to interview." Yukiko looked a bit annoyed as she sat down on the bleachers.

"Alright, people! Are there any more warmup matches still not finished? We're going to do something new today. We're going to play a game." There was a smirk threatening to quirk up at the corner of her mouth. "Today, we'll play a game called Being Blind."

* * *

When Inoue had taken up the offer to cover Rikkai's new tennis coach, he'd expected someone old, mature and with much, much, much tennis experience. He'd expected someone like Sanada-kun or Tezuka-kun, someone who fitted the cold image of Rikkai.

What he had not expected was a sophomore girl, who did not look the least serious, all smiles and joking, and on top of that, _blind_.

It wasn't that he had something against blind people, but aren't blind people supposed to be, well, blind? Yet this girl did not seem blind.

He'd watched her match with Niou-kun. Niou-kun, probably one of the strongest players in the team's lineup, was someone Inoue respected greatly. When the blind girl played, it was as if she gained her own set of eyes on the court. Eyes that see through every ball, every movement, every technique. Inoue faintly remembered reading about a blind tennis player somewhere, but the memory was so vague that he could not recall when and where. She was probably one of those super players who didn't participate in many tournaments, yet managing to make a big name for herself through rumors. Mifune Yukiko, Inoue swore he had heard the name 'Mifune' before. But when? Where?

* * *

The game was very unnerving. Yanagi decided as he watched different blindfolded matches.

Akaya, the normally ferocious and hot-headed player, seemed to be deflated in the face of blindness.

Jackal, the Iron Lung with unlimited stamina, was panting deeply from running all around the courts ineffectively.

Marui... well, let's just say he could use some more sugar in his system.

Niou had given up halfway through the match, only returning the most easiest balls randomly.

Yagyuu had resorted to swinging his racket like maniac, hoping fervently to hit some lucky balls.

Yukimura and Sanada faired better than the others, but the gap between them and the blind girl was significant. The two had only managed to score a few points before the matched had ended 6-0.

For himself, he could use a hell lot more data and practice.

Despite the pathetic losing streak, it was clear that the game had a significant effect on all regulars. If anything, the game had fired up the players more than ever. The improvement in technique and skill could also be observed through normal matches afterwards. Yukiko had nodded in approval several times as she played against different players normally.

At the end of practice, the girl announced, "From now on, we'll do this game every week, to evaluate your improvement." This earned quite a lot of groans from the regulars, which was ignored. "You've obviously all got potential in tennis, despite the fact that you were beaten by me. What you need isn't a little push. You need an earthquake. And I happen to be miracle-prone." Yukiko grinned.

"You want the Nationals? I'll give you the Nationals. I'll take you there."

* * *

**Author's note: So, I've decided to make this somewhat of a debut for Yukiko, the maniac coach. And make her promise to lead the team to the Nationals and win it, so the whole team will be totally fired up. And if you have any questions (and I'm betting you have loads, seeing as this chapter is shit) feel free to PM me or review or whatever. And review. Please, please review. Cheers, man.**


	6. And It Spread Like Fire

**Author's note: Hey people! Long time no see! I made an extra long chapter for you folks to make up for my lateness! But, boy, this chapter was tough. Nonetheless, I somehow managed to finish it, and here you go! Chapter 6! A few more matches and games!**

* * *

Word spread like wildfire. Scouts spread like wildfire.

In less than a week, the name Mifune Yukiko as Rikkaidai's tennis coach had gotten out. Being Rikkaidai's coach wasn't something to be ignored. The coach had to be experienced, and won at least something big, to qualify as a top-notch coach for the emperor.

So when rumors had it that the new coach was a _girl_, and on top of that, was _blind, _scouts and spies from different schools flocked the school gates of Rikkai. And it wasn't like they didn't have enough paparazzi on any normal day. It was only thanks to Sanada that the crazy scouts didn't try to climb over fence and attack the regulars. The fierce vice-captain fired death glares at anyone who dared make a sound and yelled "TARUNDORU!" at any member getting distracted by the commotion.

The dear, dear, sadistic captain of the time just smiled at the scene, for some unintelligible reason scaring spies to no end.

And of course, the main character of all the gossip, taking no notice of big scene, merely commented that the spectators were being too loud again.

And just then, her head snapped up. "I may be blind, but I am not deaf. Niou, I don't know what you're up to, but I seriously don't want to know if you have to climb up a tree to do that." There was a grunt and a rustle of leaves, and the sound of wind swishing down.

"Che. What gave me away?" Niou asked as he slid down the trunk, landing beside Yukiko.

She looked amused. "You climb too loudly. I could hear the snap of branches from way down here. That's how loud you are." Then she grew serious. "It's the same with your tennis. Your style is too...obvious. You need to be subtler when you play. Normally you distract people with your illusions, but when they don't work, what do you do? You're a trickster. Trick people. Be subtle. A trick becomes nothing the moment you leave a hint."

Niou snickered. "You genius. Not everything has to do with tennis, you know."

Yukiko shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever you say, Haruharu. Your loss, not mine."

Yukimura, who was the one charged with Yukiko Duty when Sanada played, looked sternly at Niou. "Niou, that wasn't very polite. Yukiko-san was giving you advice."

She waved a hand, swatting away an invisible fly. "Nah, I'm used to vices. Especially from dear, dear Haruharu. By the way, the cheerleaders are awfully loud today, aren't they?" Then she proceeded to whistle off-tune, enjoying the autumn breeze.

"Mizuki-san?" Fuji Yuuta tried not to sound like grumbling. "There are some _bright purple_ bugs over here." He stared pointedly at a particular bug crawling up Mizuki's bag. "Are you completely sure that they are harmless enough to ignore?" He, unlike his genius brother, did not have an extensive knowledge on bugs and plants. He could identify some bugs, yes, but when it came to the special and _poisonous_ ones, well...

"Be quiet, Yuuta. I'm trying to film this match, and it would do well without your obnoxious voice sticking in every five seconds!" He hissed, turning away from the camera.

The two were currently camped out in a particularly thick bush which contained a wide variety of bugs and leaves, not far from the tennis courts. Yuuta counted with his fingers. In the past two hours, he had found:

Light green bugs x 37

Brown bugs x 59

Deep blue bugs x 13

Hot red bugs x 22

Pale pink bugs x 14

Bright purple bugs x 3

Super Ultra Rare Golden bug x 2

That's was quite a find in a single bush. Yuuta made a mental note to do his research and preparations before coming to Rikkaidai next time. This time, he'll just have to make do with a mosquito repellant. He sighed to himself as he drenched himself with the stinky liquid.

"Yuuta, Yuuta!" Mizuki yelped suddenly, tugging at the boy's shirt excitedly. "She's finally coming down the courts! This is what we've been waiting for! Give me the walkie talkie!" Yuuta rolled his eyes as he slipped his hand into the bag, dug around, fished out the black walkie talkie coated with a few bugs, and handed it to Mizuki.

"Yanigasawa! Kisarazu!" Mizuki roared into the small black device. "You see that girl entering the courts with Sanada? That's our target. Make sure to film her from every single side. Do not let her out of your focus, am I clear or not?" There were groans and complaints heard from the device.

Yuuta peeked out from the bush. The girl did not seem to be prepared to play a match. She said something to Sanada and the other boy retreated back to the team that had lined up in front of them.

"You want the Nationals. First, you have to understand a few things. Tennis is an all-out battle. But sometimes, not only the strong get to win. Good strategy can reduce stronger opponents to loss. Play with your strengths. Know your ability. Not only see the strengths but also the flaws. To train this, we can play another game today. This game is called 'Playing Against Yourself'. Niou will play a one-point match with every one of you. He will impersonate you, and in other words, your opponent will be you. You will not only see where your strengths lie, but also your weaknesses. Yanagi, take notes. You will play last. Niou, you will be exempted from this practice as you have to play against all the regulars."

In the bush, Mizuki giggled hysterically and started spouting gibberish about winning the Nationals. Yuuta rolled his eyes again. Sometimes, he had to pinch his upperclassman to make sure he was still in reality. And he did that just now.

Mizuki let out an 'OW!', then returned to his Crazyville. There was just no help for mentally damaged people when they're in this state.

But, at that precise moment, a very displeased security guard heard the deranged giggles and discovered them in the bush. Without an entry permit. And the two took off running.

* * *

Jackal was the first to play against 'himself'. He had to admit, this was extremely difficult. The one-point match had dragged on for forty minutes, with both himself and his doppelganger running on the courts, both having limitless stamina and polished defense skills. The two Jackals refused to give in, not letting the ball pass either sides. It wasn't until Yukiko cried 'Stop!' until the two ended the rally in a tie.

"Jackie-kun, you have super stamina and super defense, but you've got to take the initiative!" Yukiko said exasperatedly after the match. "If I hadn't told you to stop, the point rally would never end, and slowly, your stamina will be used up. Alright?"

Marui's match had turned into a volley showdown. It was very vexing, really. The ball not touching the ground at all, both players at the net, fighting neck to neck, but not gaining the point. Niou had eventually won the point after a long struggle, firing a particular strong shot. Marui, being weakened to the point his wrists couldn't take it anymore, had his racket blown away.

"Mint-chan," Yukiko had taken to make up a nickname for everyone, and she settled on Mint for Marui, claiming he always smelt like mint every time he spoke. "Your technique is great, but you can train up on your stamina and power. Robot-kun, add fifty more push-ups to his regime."

Yagyuu's match was the shortest by far, the two engaging into a heated battle from the start. But when Niou fired a Laser Beam, he was rendered mobile and couldn't react.

"Yagyuu-chan, you are a very all-rounded player, and your skills are great and all, but when your own move is used against you, you need to find out your own weakness and attack that." Yagyuu sometimes thought the blind girl was something else, giving wise advice like that.

Kirihara... well, he sort of snapped mid-match. It seemed that seeing himself in Devil mode was too much to swallow. He just stood there like a block of ice. Sanada had to cart him off the courts with a trolly. More training on mentality was in for him, it seems...

When Sanada's match came, all eyes turned to them. It wasn't a match that could be missed. Niou versus Sanada... All the scouts went into an insane sort of frenzy, snapping photos at a ridiculous speed, screaming at the top of their lungs against security guards who tried to drag them out of the school. They might as well burst into a fountain of nosebleed.

"Well, well, ThunderHorse-kun," Niou taunted, using the nickname Sanada despised most, "this will be interesting, very interesting indeed. What would you do, if you lost to me? Just so you know, my illusion is flawless."

Sanada scowled. "TARUNDORU! If you look down on your opponents, you will be caught off guard!"

"Oh? Are you going yell 'Yudan Sezu Ni Ikou'? Like _Tezuka?"_ Niou smirked as he prepared to serve. When he looked into Sanada's eyes, Sanada saw his doppelganger on the opposite side of the courts.

'Sanada' served. The showdown began. The two Sanadas rallied furiously, both sides unwilling to back down, like the Sanadas they were. After a good fifteen minutes, both Sanadas panted heavily, from running all across the courts, and still running. Both Sanadas had their cap fallen off, their legs swollen from the non-stop running.

_It's time to end this. Rai!_ Niou's eyes danced.

Sanada looked up in surprise and found a gleam in Niou eyes that he knew too well. The fake Sanada raised the racket high, and struck. The electricity of the ball exploded in a super speed. Sanada gritted his teeth. Just then, he noticed the coach standing on the spectators' stand, making a face.

_There is always a flaw in a ball. Any shot. When you find yourself against a near-impossible-to-return ball, you cannot rely on your strength alone. Look through the ball, find its weakness, and drive it home. Do not let your own sight deceive you._

Sanada narrowed his eyes. Through the haze of lightening, there was a small stumble the ball made every spin it turned. A small glitch, probably due to the electricity running all around it. It was so small, he normally wouldn't have noticed. No one would have.

If he could catch that at the right moment, the moment where the ball's power was at it weakest, there was a slight chance he could return it. But he knew enough that that wasn't enough. What else? There was only seconds until the ball reached him. Even if he managed to catch the ball, the strings on his racket would definitely break. He'd seen his opponents try too many times. His strings would break...

_Think out of the square. That's what tennis is all about. Let your creativity fly._

His strings would break... but the handle of his racket wouldn't. Flipping his racket over, he caught the handle, and hit the ball with the stump of it.

On the opposite court, Niou froze. Sanada's face had fallen away, leaving the smirk-less face of Niou Masaharu behind.

Yukiko whistled and whooped. "That's what I'm looking for! Find the flaw! Good job, ThunderHorse!"

Beside her, Kirihara was scratching his head incomprehensibly. "How the hell did that blind girl know how fuku-buchou... Never mind." Upon meeting Yukiko, Kirihara had wisely learnt that there were a lot of things that he could never understand.

* * *

**Author's note: Whoa, looking back, this chapter totally sucked. Anyway, I'll start more on Yukiko's past next chapter, and her skills are yet to be revealed, so it her mysterious identity and mission... Thanks to all my fellow reviewers! You've all given me incredible support, and I just want to tell you that it really, really helped! So cheers!**


	7. On Your Mark (Part 1)

**Author's note: Har, har. It's been decades, really, since I updated. And if you hadn't already seen it, you could go check out my profile, where I have posted Mifune Yukiko's personal profile. It contains major spoilers of the later chapters though, so don't read if you don't want to be spoiled. By the way, people who have read the New Prince of Tennis, any guesses on who Yukiko is related to?**

* * *

Kirihara Akaya was dismissed from his job as Mifune Yukiko's mighty chaperone.

To be honest, it was to be expected, really. His grades were bad enough already, and taking care of a blind girl 24/7 at school was really taking a toll on his grades. Besides, a guy really wasn't very suited for the job when it came to... toilet issues.

Hence, the principal and the teachers convened a short meeting and decided a new chaperone for the blind girl.

Ichinose Sen, an honors student who attained straight-As as easy as breathing, was the lucky one. The girl played sports as well -track, in fact- so the school board probably figured Yukiko and Sen were born for each other.

Biggest problem was, Ichinose Sen was simply the _definition_ of 'passivity'.

She never did anything more than required to, never talked unless spoken to, never doing anything that would produce an adrenaline rush. Always with a pair of earphones shoved into her ears, canceling out the rest of her world. One would describe her as a typical 'shut-in'.

Yukiko tried to make conversation with her new chaperone, but they all went something like this:

* * *

FIRST ATTEMPT AT CONVERSATION

Yukiko: So, hey. You're Ichinose Sen, right?

Sen: **nods, and stares into infinite space** (not that Yukiko notices)

Yukiko: Uh... you...run for the track team?

Sen: **nods, and stares into infinite space**

Yukiko: So that's a yes...?

Sen: **nods, and stares into infinite space**

* * *

SECOND ATTEMPT AT CONVERSATION

Yukiko: Uh, this English homework, is... like, so difficult! Could you -uh- like, teach me?

Sen: **nods, and stares into infinite space**

Yukiko: So, uh, you gonna help me?

Sen: **nods, and stares into infinite space**

Yukiko: Right, forget I said anything.

Sen: **nods, and stares into infinite space**

* * *

THIRD ATTEMPT AT CONVERSATION

Yukiko: Hey! You going for track team practice?

Sen: **nods, and stares into infinite space**

Yukiko: You're not even taking me seriously, are you?

Sen: **nods, and stares into infinite space**

Yukiko: If I were someone else sane, I'd have strangled you fifty times.

Sen: **nods, and stares into infinite space**

* * *

FOURTH AND FINAL ATTEMPT AT CONVERSATION

Yukiko: Right, uh, this is my seeing eye dog, Google.

Sen: **nods, and stares into infinite space**

Yukiko: Are you mute or something? Are you incapable of human speech?

Sen: **nods, and stares into infinite space**

Yukiko: You know what? I'll just stop talking.

Sen: **nods, and stares into infinite space**

* * *

The second day was even worse. Yukiko had not thought it was able for a person to avoid speaking for one whole day at school, but she decided just now that Ichinose Sen would be an exception to that rule.

Sen had managed to worm her way out of every situation where she would be required to speak. When the Math teacher had asked her a question, she'd made simple gestures that effectively answered the question and shut the teacher up. (Though Yukiko had absolutely no idea what sort of genius gesture that managed to answer the value of pi.)

Yukiko had also done thorough research on her chaperone, achieved through collecting different data from her classmates, and teammates.

And her results:

"Ichinose? Isn't she the mute girl?"

"Oh, Ichinose? There's a rumor that if she looks you in the eye and gives you a straight answer to a question, you'll be damned for the rest of your life. Don't worry, that's not gonna happen in this lifetime."

"Omigosh, Ichinose-senpai is super! I mean, have you seen her run?!"

"Ichinose is really talented, man. What I'd give to cut those beautiful legs off and paste them on my own..."

"Ichinose?" She's in our class?"

* * *

"She's impossible!" Yukiko complained at tennis practice, while rallying a ball with the Yukimura Seiichi, the only person without a training partner for this practice. Kirihara had been sentenced to detention after school, leaving the regulars in odd numbers.

Yukimura gave a light chuckle. "Ichinose-san? Your new chaperone?"

"Yes! You know her? Please don't tell me she's actually mute." Yukiko groaned as she hit the ball half-heartedly, accidentally sending the ball into a lob. "Whoops!"

Yukimura jogged backwards lightly and returned the ball. "Well, I did hear she was the fastest runner in Kanagawa."

Yukiko sighed, flinging her racket in a random direction, yet successfully smashing the ball. The ball went at an amazing speed. "I don't care if she's fastest or slowest. I don't even care if she sucks at sports! I just want someone who is capable of _talking_." The ball rolled past Yukimura's feet. Yukimura raised an eyebrow at the ball before turning back to the blind girl.

"Give her a chance. Get to know her. Sometimes, people aren't like what they seem at first glance. Like you said, don't let what you see deceive you." Yukimura smiled before walking towards the opposite courts to help the girl.

Yukiko grumbled before accepting Yukimura's help. "You're smiling at me, aren't you? I'd rip that smile of yours off if I could see it..."

* * *

_Rip the smile off me, huh._ Seiichi flopped down on his bed. _I became sidetracked during the rally practice. Perhaps I should have gone for a smash when she accidentally hit the lob? No... She was standing on the baseline. Maybe a volley. At any rate, that last ball, that speed... It was incredible to be able to execute such a high-speed ball at that position._

Seiichi got off his bed and grabbed racket. "If I remember correctly, her wrists were placed like this..." He murmured as he tried to imitate the move. "But then, her wrists have to be flexible and strong enough."

_Come to think of it, her wrists are quite skinny. _He'd noticed that when he'd held her hand to escort her to the courts. Her braided strands of hair, it must take a long time to braid them up each morning. Her fingers must be really slender and deft to do that every morning... Wait, slender doesn't have anything to do with that...

The way she moves around on the courts, agile yet graceful, quick yet elegant. It was like watching a swan, except that a swan did not have such a beautiful expression. Except that a swan did not have misty white eyes that could see through your heart. Except that a swan did not have an earnest expression that could melt your insides.

Except that a swan did not have a confidence burning brighter than a fire.

Except that a swan did not have such beautiful eyes that looked at you every time, despite that they could not see anything beyond darkness.

Except that a swan could not look elegant while playing tennis.

Except that a swan was not _her_.

_Yukimura Seiichi, what is going on with you?_

* * *

"Everyone! May I have your attention, please?" Asada-sensei shouted over the chatter. "As you all know, our annual Sports Da is just around the corner, and each class must submit a team of four people to participate in the 4x100 meter relay! Do we have any nominations for the members?"

Various cries of different names arose from all directions.

"Matsuoka! Go get 'em, buddy!"

"Aoyama! You're the man!"

"Kirihara! Show them who's the devil!"

"Souji! Give them hell!"

Just then, a voice spoke up. "Ichinose Sen." At this, every pair of eyes turned to the voice. The speaker was not in the least abashed, though the subject of the topic narrowed her eyes. "I nominate Ichinose Sen." Yukiko repeated.

Asada-sensei, sensing the tension, tried to intervene. "A-ah, Mifune-san, you're new here, so you must not know that-"

"All I know, is that Ichinose is the fastest runner in the school. I see no reason not to nominate her." Yukiko declared, cutting off whatever Asada-sensei was going to say. Others muttered in agreement. Ichinose ground her teeth.

After a while of voting, results were out.

_Matsuoka Kenta 27 votes_

_Aoyama Jun 29 votes_

_Kirihara Akaya 17 votes_

_Ebina Souji 20 votes_

_Ichinose Sen 35 votes_

_Suzuki Wataru 12 votes_

Each student was allowed to vote for four people. Ichinose had gotten all of the votes.

"And, our representatives are Matsuoka-kun, Aoyama-kun, Ebina-kun and Ichinose-san. Any objections?" Asada-sensei announced, looking around the room for raised hands.

Ichinose stood up. It was the first time she'd spoken in the month, and everyone turned towards her.

"I politely refuse the offer. I am already participating in a lot of events, and I fear that I may not be in the best physical condition to run for our class. In my stead, Kirihara-kun, with the second most votes, will run for our class. Is that alright, Asada-sensei?"

Faced by an icy glare from his student, Asada-sensei could do nothing but nod frantically.

"Bullshit. You're not even participating in anything. I heard from the upperclassmen. You've quit running, haven't you? And it ain't no injury or nothing you claim. It's what happened last year, right?" A boy from the back rows scowled. "You're a coward, and you can't even face your dreams. Fine. We don't need a quitter on our team anyway."

Ichinose's face paled ever so slightly. "Thank you for your concern, Aoyama-kun. I'm glad that you always hold such dear feelings towards me."

Aoyama snorted and shut up.

Yukiko frowned at what she just heard. She was blind, but that didn't mean she did not notice the sparks of fire flying all over the classroom. What had happened last year?

* * *

**Author's Note: Okay, this is just part one of the complete chapter. Stay tuned for part two! I honestly hoped you liked this! Jesus, I've been getting ZERO reviews lately. Please do take the time to write comments for me! Constructive criticism or any kind of criticism is extremely appreciated! Please! Thanks guys!**


	8. Get Set (Part 2)

**Author's note: Yo, people! I know I've been slacking off lately, but my updates are gonna be a bit slower from now on 'cause my left hand is currently somewhat handicapped, and it will remain that way for about two months or less. So don't expect this temporarily crippled writer to update real fast, 'cause people with one hand can't type real fast.**

* * *

Ichinose Sen stood by her window, staring out of it. She'd been doing that for the past hour. The sky had turned from light blue to orange and to black. She gazed intently into the dark, dark sky. As she stared, she forced down the mouthful of vomit forcing its way up her throat.

_No... I can't do this!_ She stood up abruptly, her stool flying out under her, hitting the wall, and she threw the curtains shut.

It's been half a year now, will she continue like this for the rest of her life? Will she never be able to connect the broken parts inside her?

* * *

Yukimura had taken up the job of accompanying Yukiko home, as Ichinose was absent today.

When Yukimura held the girl's arm, for some unknown reason, his chest did a gymnastics routine. It was as if someone had let loose a dozen pachinko balls in there.

"You okay?" Yukiko frowned. "You've been really quiet... and smiling really weirdly. You high on sugar, Child of God?"

Trying to hide the pink patch creeping up his face, he changed the subject quickly. "Can I ask you a dumb question?"

"Sure. Fire away." She smiled.

"Why do you always make an effort to face people directly when you speak?"

There was a pause. "Maybe it's because I still cannot bring myself to acknowledge the fact that I am blind." Another pause.

"Can I ask you an insensitive question?"

"Depends on what you're asking." She shrugged. "But, 'course you can."

"Were you born blind?"

"No."

"Then how-"

"Whoops! I think you just crossed the borderline into Territory Sensitive. Sorry, Child of God, I don't like to talk about that stuff. Maybe some time later, when I get to know you better." Yet another pause.

"Okay." Neither of them spoke again.

* * *

Google, apparently, Yukimura discovered, had attention deficit hyperactive disorder. In short, that dog was ADHD. Was it even possible for a seeing eye dog to have ADHD?

"You dog-"

"Oh, never mind him. He's always like that."

"But he's a _seeing eye dog._ He's supposed to be _tame_."

"He is." Google barked indignantly in agreement.

"You call sticking your head into a washing sink and smashing your head into the window every fifteen minutes _tame_?"

"What if I do?"

"Then I'm going to have a long chat with the principal deciding whether you are mentally fit to assume to role of a coach."

"Oh, take it down an octave." Yukiko punched his kidney lightly. "It's just Google. Google's just Google."

Yukimura rolled his eyes. "That's some amazing philosophy there. Google is just Google. Any more profound thoughts like that? An asylum is an asylum? A mental patient is a mental patient?"

Yukiko had invited Yukimura to her apartment for a bound of tea after the awkward silence, and Yukimura had been more than glad to.

Her apartment was on the 100th floor, overseeing the beauty of Kanagawa, only that the owner of the flat could not appreciate the view. The apartment was completely armed, with emergency buttons every few feet, metal bar handles trailing all over the walls. No patch of wall managed to escape safety's wrath. There seemed to be no kitchens in the house though. (Which was a good thing, just in case Yukiko randomly presses some weird button and sends the building into flames.)

Yukiko rubbed the dog's fur affectionately. "He's got guts, and I like that. When they told me to choose a dog, they told me that this guy here had been found in the streets, parentless. But he didn't even so much as whimper when kids threw rocks at him. He stood his ground. He's strong, whether you know it or not."

Yukimura gazed into her eyes intently, taking of the advantage that the girl could not notice this intimate action. He could almost see the sadness and empathy leaking out from there. It was almost as if she could _relate_ to the dog...

"So," Yukimura started, "you live alone here?"

"Yeah. My home is kinda far from Kanagawa, so my grandpa had me live here instead. Don't worry, this is a luxury condo. I just have to ring a bell and servants will come and help me with whatever I need."

The condo had no walls, giving a blind person a safe access to the rest of the flat. But what about-

"No toilets here." Yukiko supplied helpfully. "You have to go down to the clubhouse. Grandpa's afraid I might hit my head on the toilet bowl and pass out or something."

Clubhouse? This was definitely 'luxury'.

"Your family's rich?" Yukimura asked curiously.

"No," she laughed, "Grandpa's near to going bankrupt this month, no, definitely not rich. But my mother's side..." Her sentence trailed off, leaving behind an awkward silence. Something silvery appeared at the corner of her eye. "Well, I think it's about time you left. Look at the time, your parents will be worried." She changed the subject, turning away.

Yukimura wanted to say something, but he took up his bag and went to the door.

He smiled an angelic smile, knowing she could not see it, and said, "The biscuits were very nice. I'll be seeing you tomorrow at Sports Day." Then he stepped out of the flat and shut the door. His unspoken question remained on the tip of his tongue.

_What about _your_ parents?_

* * *

The Sports Day could be described as...extremely one-sided. Every event was dominated by either the track team or the tennis team or both. Reasonable, considering both sports teams were National-level.

Kirihara got the second in the 400m race.

Sanada-fukubuchou came back with three golds for javelin, discus and shot put, huffing 'tarundoru' under his breath.

Jackal practically dominated the long races, winning the cross-country race, 1500m run and the obstacle course.

Marui won third at the high jump, while Niou and Yagyuu were disqualified for tricking the players by impersonating each other, thus receiving a well-earned glare and a slap from their gentle vice-captain.

Yukimura was simply amazing, who knew the yips reaction could be applied on the field? He marveled at the stunning array of medals on his neck as the jaws of the other students hit the ground.

But yips or no yips, Yanagi's long jump competition was by far the most impressive of all. Have you ever seen a person win a competition by muttering crazy calculations and scaring wits out of people? Well, now, you have.

"This may incredibly be the most boring day of my life, and believe me, I've went through a lot of boring days, so that's saying a lot." Yukiko declared, giving a huge yawn. She exempted from all activities, of course. "How do you expect a blind person to enjoy herself at an event where you have to _see_ to receive entertainment? Kill me now." Sen, who was by her side, gave no answer. She hadn't participated in any event or made any detectable movement throughout the day. The speaker on the wall crackled again.

_"Ichinose Sen of class 2-D, will you please proceed to the marshall area for the 200m dash? Thank you."_

Yukiko sighed. She didn't bother to convince Sen to go for the tenth time. Sen seemed to be in agreement with that, and kept to herself. But, if Yukiko could see, she would notice the longing glances Sen gave the track field and the runners on it. Yukiko would notice the twitching hand that unconsciously reaching out for the field, and withdrawing quickly. And she most definitely not miss the agonized look on the silent girl's expression, as if in pain.

After lunch, the finals took place, as well as the relays. Just then, Kirihara came sprinting towards the pair.

"Yukiko! Ichinose!" He panted as he skidded to a halt in front of them.

"Oh, Bakaya? What's up?" Yukiko asked, immediately recognizing the voice.

"We have a really huge problem." Kirihara's quivering voice indicated the urgency, and Sen looked up. "Aoyama and Matsuoka both can't run, and now we're missing two runners for our class's relay team!"

* * *

**Author's note: Hey, so I'm gonna be focusing a bit on Sen for three chapters, because she's gonna play a major role later on (oops, spoiler), and I want to properly introduce her before inserting her into the story. This arc will continue onto Part 3, mind you. BTW, folks, Kanagawa Districts Tournament gonna start right after I finish the Ichinose Sen arc, so keep posted. It's gonna get more exciting once the story advances into the tennis matches. FYI, I'm not gonna be sticking with the original line-ups in the manga/anime, and there will be OC Kanagawa schools appearing, so be prepared.**


	9. Flying Without Wings (Part 3)

**Author's note: Finale of the Ichinose Arc! It's boring, I admit. But give it a try! Read and review!**

**Special thanks to bluheat for giving me tips on writing, you've been an awesome reviewer. Also thanks to all the other people who'd supported my story and reviewed it!**

* * *

Hell broke out. Class 2-D was in complete panic once the news spread out. Apparently, Matsuoka collapsed due to heat stroke, and Aoyama twisted his ankle at the most hideous angle.

"What the heck are we gonna do now?" Ebina groaned. "How in bloody hell are we gonna win with just me and Kirihara?" He tossed a sideways glance at Sen, then ducked his head in face of her glare.

"Is there anyone who can run? Anyone?" Kirihara demanded, clenching his fist. "If we give up this race, we might as well pass up the whole tournament." At Rikkaidai, every year level competed with each other, and there was an official tournament for that. Currently, their class was in the lead, but it won't be for long if they give up the relay.

"Ichinose\, can you please run for us? Please? It's just for a really short time! I'll do anything! This relay... this tournament... means a lot to me!" Aoyama suddenly spoke up. He toppled out of his chair, ignoring the protests of several people, and got down on all fours. Sen's eyes widened at the scene.

She bent down and tried to get the boy to stand up. "Aoyama-kun, don't be like this, you're still injured..."

"No!" Aoyama replied stubbornly, "I won't get up until you agree! Ichinose, please run for the relay, I'm begging you!"

Sen looked as if someone had grabbed hold of each part of her body and was tearing her apart, piece by piece. "I cannot run." She replied stiffly. "I'll never be able to run again." Then, she turned and ran away.

Aoyama slammed his fist into the concrete ground, angrily waving off the people trying to help him up.

Yukiko furrowed her eyebrows. There was definitely something going on.

* * *

Sen curled herself up at the corner of the wall. Every time that topic was brought up, she would have an anxiety attack. The world would look completely distorted, her heart would struggle violently, her brain would hammer against her skull so painfully it was almost unbearable. And that was exactly what she was going through now. She fumbled around for her prescription pills, but found nothing but her cell phone.

Another excruciating throb of pain flashed in her head and she clutched her head in agony, tears spilling out involuntarily at the impossible spasms. She bit down on her lip, clamming shut the screams on the edge of her throat. She pushed her back against the wall, her nails clawing the floor desperately. She'd already thrown up twice, but it didn't make her feel any better, if not, worse.

_It's alright, once this is over, it'll be alright. Deep breaths, close your eyes, it'll be over before you know it._ She could faintly make out a familiar clacking sound, but she was too tired to acknowledge them. She focused solely on clearing her brain, but there was one irritating noise that bothered her.

"...en? ...nose ...en? Ichi... Sen? Where are you?" That voice, Sen would recognize it anywhere.

Using every ounce of breath and energy she had left, she called out weakly, "I-I'm over h-here..." The clacking sounds quickened, and she felt a hard jab on her leg.

"Ichinose! Where the heck were you?" Yukiko demanded. "You can't just take off like that!" The blind, ignorant girl gave a sigh, then carefully lowered herself to sit beside Sen.

Then, something astonishing happened. Yukiko rested her hand on Sen's head, soothing her, and suddenly the agonizing headache was gone. Yukiko stroked her head gently.

"You know, there was a time when I thought I'd never be able to play tennis again." Yukiko started.

"It was on my third birthday. I was diagnosed with retinal cancer. The doctor told me that there was a surgery for it in France, and if I was quick enough, they could save my vision. The cost wasn't cheap. My parents emptied every cent in their accounts for it.

We took the plane to France. I was going make it. Then, terrorists hijacked the plane and crashed it into the sea. I lost everything that day. My parents, my brother, my sight." At this point, she got a little choked up and cleared her throat to steady it.

"They got me to a hospital immediately. They got rid of the cancer. They told me it was a success. What they didn't tell was that there wasn't any color left in the world for me anymore. I was sent back to live with my grandfather. I nearly gave up on tennis, because every time I held a racket, I would be reminded of everything I'd lost. My grandfather didn't give up. He said, 'You think tennis is what triggers the nightmares. You're wrong. It's trying to heal your wounds. To heal, you have to pull apart the place that hurts most and take out the bullet. That's why it's so painful. There'll always be a scar there, but at least the worst part is out.' I took out the bullet. It hurt - a lot. And it'll never stop hurting, but it gets better."

Yukiko buried her head between her knees. "I miss my mom." She said in a tiny voice.

There was a long silence of thought and resolve.

Then, Sen stood up. "I think I'm ready to take out the bullet."

* * *

"On your mark. Get set." _Boom!_ The runners set off. It was a 4x100m relay, but class 2-D only had three runners. Sen would be running 200 meters. It had been a long time since she stood on the tracks and her heart was throbbing painfully. Kirihara, the first runner, had completed his 100 meter and had handed the baton to Ebina. Ebina ran.

Sen took a deep breath. It's okay. You need to face the pain. The baton landed on her hand. And she ran.

She must have forgotten how it felt like to ride the wind as you ran, because this was an incredible sensation. But with every step, horrible memories came washing ashore like a tsunami.

_When she had attracted unwanted attention during her freshman year and became the horrible spotlight of bullying and gossip._

Forget it, she gritted her teeth and clenched her baton harder. Her legs propelled faster. The breeze felt wonderful on her face. Her feet loved how it met the ground.

_When the bullying had escalated to the point where bullying became equivalent to assault._

Pant, pant, one hundred meters complete, one hundred meters to go. Don't think about anything.

_When flowerpots came smashing at her and cars started to find her as a common target for crashing exercises._

_ And when... the horrible moment of her her life came, when her ankle got caught in a mousetrap with sharp jagged blades, and the blade had sunk its teeth into her flesh and bones, how it hurt so much..._

Sen gasped uncontrollably. Another anxiety attack came about, and the spasms started. It hurt, so much. And it hurt even more now. She tripped but managed to keep her balance. But suddenly the distorted world cleared up.

_But it's alright now, because you've healed - physically and mentally, whether you know it or not Now you have to take the final step. That gold trophy is the all the assurance you need._

And she did.

* * *

Yukiko clapped her hands twice. "Listen up, folks! The Districts Tournament is coming up! Starting from next week, we will be facing schools in Kanagawa. I've trained you boys well, and if you dare drop a single game, I will personally attend to your funeral, get it?" Various gulps and nervous fidgeting could be observed. No one was dumb enough to make the mistake of underestimating their slave-driving coach's capacity to murder.

"We'll only be facing two schools since we're a first seed, and our first opponent is Joshibi Gakuen. They've got strong doubles, but I expect you slaughter them any way. I'll announce the line-ups, which, by the way, won't change throughout the tournament. Too much of a hassle." Yukiko cleared her throat.

"Ahem. Doubles two, Renji and Akaya. Bakaya, listen to Robot-chan and change your underwear. Pfft.

Doubles one, Thunderhorse and Yagyuu-kun. Thunderhorse, please don't yell too loud and deafen poor Yagyuu-kun.

Singles three, our one and only buchou Child of God. Don't let us down, God.

Singles two and one are Bunta-chan and Haruharu, just in case anything goes wrong. Sorry, Jackie, you'll have to sit this one out." Yukiko rolled up her piece of paper. "That's all."

* * *

**Author's note: That's all for now! Stay posted for the Districts! The Districts are gonna be a bit short, one chapter only, and next up is the Kanto Tournament! Cheers and review!**


	10. Because We Are Emperors

**Author's note: Wow, I can't believe how fast I'm updating. Don't get used to it, folks. But, I'm having a holiday, so you can hog onto the feeling for a little more while. Hope you enjoy the Districts! And to any possible Chinese people reading this, Happy New Lunar Year! (Yeah, we have a weird calendar)**

* * *

Around seven in the morning, Yukiko was striking a pose similar to that of a teapot, one hand on hips and one tapping on her cheek. Anyone who had a single ounce of brain cell kept a ten mile radius from the blind girl who gave off an aura more murderous than any Sanadas could muster.

All because of a late seaweed idiot who had a death wish.

Jackal groaned, "Akaya's gonna die. And no one's gonna play doubles two."

Yukimura and Yanagi sighed and looked at their registration form. "At this rate, we might have to forfeit." Yanagi said worriedly.

Sanada cracked his knuckles. His mood wasn't much better than Yukiko's. "What did Akaya say on the phone?" He growled.

Marui gulped. "Err, something about saving a princess from the dragon's hide?" Just then, the guy who had a death wish appeared. "Sorry I'm late!" Kirihara bounded into sight, apparently more cheerful than guy scheduled for execution should be.

Before the boy could escape to his safe haven behind Yukimura, a leg tripped him.

"You think you could be late and get off easy, ah?" Yukiko smiled a weird smile. "Tell me, was the princess very heavy?"

The next five minutes was too gruesome to be put into words. In simple conclusion, when Yukiko was finally done with him, Kirihara resembled something like a platypus and panda hybrid, with a squashed nose and tons of bruises.

Yukiko glowered. "Repeat after me. I, Kirihara Akaya,"

Kirihara sniffed pitifully. "I-I, Kirihara Akaya."

"-solemnly swear-"

"-solemnly swear-"

"-that I will never be late again-"

"-that I will never be late again-"

"-and that I will never tell far-fetched lies."

"-and that I will never tell far-fetched lies."

"Say you're an insufferable jerk."

"Say you're an- Ow! Okay, okay! I'm an insufferable jerk."

Yukiko crossed her arms, finally satisfied. "I'm going to wash my hands." Then she turned and swiped left and right with her cane.

* * *

Yukiko had just come out of the washroom when her cane promptly met the leg of a passerby.

"Ouch! Watch where you're going, lady!" It was a guy she'd hit.

"Whoops! Sorry, didn't mean to. Or did you notice I can't exactly see?" Yukiko was already in a bad mood, and this guy over here wasn't helping.

"Listen, blind girl," The guy growled, "I'm the legendary One-Shot Hitman of Joshibi, and you don't want to mess with me. Now scram!"

"Yeah, right, and I'm the Queen of England. You and your oversized ego can take a break, loser." Yukiko snapped back mercilessly.

"What'd you say, girl? You want a taste of my Fireball then? You want a match? I'm the One-shot Hitman, and if I lose to the likes of you, a blind girl, then I'll even get my team to forfeit our match against Rikkaidai." The guy snarled.

At that historical moment, the fragile string of patience finally reached its limit and snapped. Yukiko stomped her cane on the ground. "And if I lose to the likes of such pigs, I'll get my team to forfeit the whole tournament."

* * *

"Jesus Christ, I can't believe you, Yasuo-fukubuchou. The captain will flip if he hears of this." A boy, crossing his arms, sighed as Yasuo stretched a few limbs.

"Relax, Iku. What Mihama-buchou doesn't know won't kill him. It's just one blind girl. How bad can things get?" Yasuo smirked and stepped onto the court.

"You can serve first, you pig-istic pig." Yukiko smiled eeriely, her white summer dress not exactly matching her expression.

"You can shut up after having tasted my Fireball." Yasuo growled and tossed the ball upwards. "FIREBALL...ATTACK!"

It was at that split second when Yasuo's mind went another way, thinking: _Oh Christ, I just might lose this game. _Because it was at that moment when Yukiko sprang into action. There was a flash if green and white. An arm drew back to hit the ball. The ball rolled past Yasuo's feet.

"Wow, that Fireball felt _cold_. Well, I suppose that's about as much as a pig can handle, Pig." Yukiko smirked.

_That's impossible... My Fireball has been defeated? Just like that?_ Yasuo stared at the round ball in his hand. _No, it must have been a fluke... I'll teach that girl a lesson!_

"FIREBALL...ATTACK!" Yasuo fired the shot again. In the same, easy way she had, she returned the ball with no effort at all.

"No observable speed, power or spin at all. I didn't think it was possible for a Fireball like that to exist. You sure have created an admirable feat, Your Royal Pig-ness. Consider me awed." Yukiko grinned.

After a few more breezy Fireballs, the game went to Yukiko.

"Your Royal Pig-ness, please allow me to demonstrate a shot of what the Fireball should look like." Yukiko curtsied irritatingly.

Tossing the ball higher up than normal, she bent her legs to a half-crouch, and arched her back, drawing her racket back to hit the ball. In less than one-tenth of a second, there was a loud crash in Yasuo's court. Turning slowly, Yasuo did not dare see where the ball went. As if it had always been there, the ball laid quietly unmoving at the edge of the court. There was a black burnt mark inside the court lines that had not been there before.

Yukiko got out of her stance and curtsied again. "I present you the Light Speed serve. It's the fastest serve in tennis history, with a speed of 341km/h, faster than even sound itself, Your Royal Pig-ness. You can't see it with the naked eye. nor can you hear it before it lands, 'cause its faster than the speed of sound. Simply put, it's impossible to return."

Just then, Iku, Yasuo's friend on the spectator's stand, suddenly grasped the metal railing. With a trembling finger, he pointed at Yukiko. "Could it be... that blind girl is the rumored blind sophomore coach of the Rikkaidai?" Yukiko made a V-sign. Yasuo blanched, but he had no idea what, no, _who _exactly he'd gotten himself into.

* * *

By the end of the match, a lot of people had gathered around the court to watch the match.

Another Light Speed Serve crashed into Yasuo's court. Yasuo fell to the ground, sweating streaming down his face like he'd just taken a shower.

"Game and match, Yukiko, 6-0!" Yukiko sang. "Am I or am I not the embodiment of genius? Now, do stick to your promise and forfeit your match, Your Royal Pig-ness!"

Yasuo growled under his breath. Just then, a man pushed past the crowd and grabbed Yasuo by the collar. "Yasuo! What. Have. You. Done? You made such a bet knowing the consequences? Do you know what had happened when you were here playing your game?"

Apparently, the match between Rikkaidai and Joshibi had started. Joshibi had lost both doubles and had been counting on Singles 3 to make a comeback. Too bad the Singles 3 player had made a stupid deal with a blind girl.

There weren't a lot of schools in Kanagawa, and for Rikkaidai, the next round would be the finals. When the team gathered for a pre-match meeting, Yukiko just yawned and said, "Same line-ups, people. Just win the match already and we can go for some celebratory pizza." The regulars just shook their heads at their coach's careless attitude.

Kirihara and Yanagi totally thrashed their opponents, both physically and mentally. I mean, who wouldn't be scared when your facing opponents who can predict your every action and turn into your worst nightmare?

Sanada and Yagyuu did pretty good as well, though in Yagyuu's opinion, Sanada hogged the ball a _bit_ too much and was a bit disappointed not to have played much.

Yukimura was legend on the court. He seemed quite cheered to be able to play in a match. Normally, like last year, they put other regulars in the three matches to observe and jot down data. And since most of their games finish in three straight wins, the Big Three, in the last two singles as a trump card, they don't always get to play. This year, the Big Three had become visibly happier during tournaments, to be able to play. Less scolding, more smiling (or not, in Sanada's case), it increased the team's morale too. Yanagi stroked his invisible beard thoughtfully and muttered, "Ii data..." The games, of course, were all won by 6-0.

The only people upset were the members of Joshibi. And everyone who lost their butts off to Rikkaidai.

The moral of today's story: Do not be a pig and piss off blind people.

**Author's note: Heads up: upcoming chapters will be more about school life before we step into the Kanto Tournament. I'm gonna release a bit more about Yukiko's past and stuff, so keep posted! Read and review, people! I haven't got great ideas about the school life thingy, and I might not start writing until I see a _suitable amount _of motivation *wink, wink* So people who've bothered to follow me and read this but haven't reviewed... Cheers!**


	11. Mission 101: Stalking

**Author's note: People who reviewed were so sweet, I just couldn't help but type faster! This chapter is longer than normal, and reveals more about Yukiko. I know, it's not exactly the school life I promised, but that will come along one or two more chapters, I'll begin the Kanto Tournament. It'll be way longer than the Districts have been. So stay posted! BTW, guys...do you think Yukiko is too perfect? Give me your honest opinion. I swear, I didn't mean for her to come out like this! If you really do think so, I'll try to whip her back into shape**. **Alright, read, enjoy and review, please.**

* * *

Yukiko was sitting on the park bench while Google pranced around the park, having the time of his life. Midnight was his favorite time. He was a bit of a loner, so it did perfectly alright for him to be alone, exploring the park like a curious adventurer.

She, like Google, was also perfectly fine with being by herself. After all, it meant less people gawking at her and whispering behind her back. She was never afraid of the dark anyway. Just then, her cellphone rang.

She flipped open her phone. "Hello? Who's this?"

_"Spending too much time with hot guys? Have you already forgotten my sexy, sexy voice?"_

"Oh, Shuu, how could I forget about you? You literally engraved yourself on me."

_"Hey, I didn't mean to scratch you! My nails were just in that position! Now will you drop that already? That's ancient history!" _Shuu protested.

"So, what's the deal? It's midnight, by the way. You could've caught me sleeping. What's up?" Yukiko gave a huge and loud yawn, just for the effect.

_"Today's Friday. You always take Google out on Friday nights. I would've never caught you sleeping." _Shuu pointed out.

"Are you gonna say what you called to say already? You've begun to bore me with your obnoxious voice."

_"I think my sexy, sexy voice called to inform you that the owner of this sexy voice will be arriving at Kanagawa tomorrow, and that he would like to invite you on a sexy date."_

"Is it your holiday again, Shuu? Your school is nice, you get all these privileges. Me? I've been stuck with its tennis team. Well, it's not bad, but I didn't want to get involved in competitive tennis again."

_"There's no help for that. By the way, I heard that Rikkaidai's tennis team has extremely good-looking members. Too bad it's wasted on someone like you, who sadly cannot appreciate their physical hotness, just as you cannot appreciate mine."_

"Your physical hotness just makes me really hot. Hot as in so-hot-I-need-to-release-it-by-punching-you hot."

_"Back to the main focus, you want to visit _them_ with me? C'mon, you know you want to. You haven't seen them in ages, especially him. They're all in Kanagawa, right?"_

Yukiko grew hesitant. "I don't know, Shuu. I don't want to see _him_ and remember that nothing has changed at all." Google had returned from his endeavor and must have sensed her uneasiness, because he set his chin on her lap. Yukiko patted him.

_"Well, if you don't go see him, you won't know if it's better or not. You want to know, right? They say he's been doing well since last time. You know you want to see him. So go see him. He'll like that. He'll be happy that you decided to visit. It's been months since you last saw him."_

"Yeah, well, I'll think about it. We can always go for coffee if it doesn't work out, right? I know an awesome parfait shop one of my upperclassmen introduced."

_"Yuki-chan. Think about it. I seriously don't need another shopping spree in Akihabara just because your visit with him didn't work out. He needs you. And you need him. You two are inter-dependent. Just give it a try, Yuki-chan. He'll feel better knowing that you care."_

"Of course I care!" A sigh. "Fine. I'll try."

_"Great! I'll see you tomorrow. Tomorrow's Saturday, so we have all day! Bye-bye, Yukiko!" _The line clicked and went dead.

Oh, Lord. What had she done again?

* * *

Her doorbell had already rang ten times, but it really couldn't be helped, because Yukiko was still struggling to get her clothes on. Google, being the clever yet annoying guide dog, did his job and opened the door. A tall guy with with a wide smirk stood there. His white hair stood out obviously against his chocolate colored skin.

"Oh, don't bother hiding anything. It's not like I haven't seen them before." Shuu said in a bored tone, earning a menacing, blind glare that couldn't pierce his ego.

"Shut up and turn around! Face the door, and don't you _dare_ look." Shuu chuckled but complied to her wishes.

When Yukiko was fully clothed, the two went down. There was already a black car waiting for them, courtesy of the condo's manager. They got in, and it sped off.

Yukiko started fidgeting halfway. Shuu smirked. "What? I didn't know you could get cold feet." Yukiko kicked him.

"You think we should bring flowers? He likes hydrangeas. Or maybe we should get _them_ fruit? Though I doubt they'd be the one to eat them. Perhaps some new clothes. _He_ seem to be wearing the same piece of filthy rag every time..."

Shuu interrupted. "We can get those later. We're on a schedule."

"Then we'll stop by the florist. We need flowers one way or another. Driver-san, stop the car at the next corner. We're getting off."

Much to his dismay, the driver actually stopped. Yukiko jumped off the car, grabbed her cane, and dashed off into the crowd. Shuu trudged behind her unwillingly, shoving a pair of dark shades on warily as they weaved through the crowd.

"This is a really big shop," Shuu complained.

"Shut up and go ask the florist for hydrangeas." And with that, Yukiko pushed the whited-haired boy away, only to bump into someone else.

"Oops, sorry..." She frowned. She recognized this smell. "Mint-chan! Is it you? Oh, and I can hear Robot-chan's mumbling a few feet away."

"Oh, Yukiko-chan? Why are you here?" Marui asked.

"Buying flowers, duh. Is it just you and Robot-chan?"

"No, Mura-buchou is upstairs looking at some rarer species. Sanada-fukubuchou is more interested in the tropical plants and is at the next store. Jackal's paying."

Just then, Shuu reappeared from nowhere, sneezing like crazy. "Oi, Yukiko, I got you your stupid hydrangeas. My allergies are killing me, can we leave now please? You know how I hate pollen-" He caught sight of Marui and Yanagi, and sneezed again. "Oh. You know them?"

"I coach them. So, I'll see you guys on Monday." Yukiko waved at them and left with Shuu. Yukimura came down just as the two left.

"Look at this, Renji, they've got poisoned ivy here! Renji? Marui?" Yanagi twisted so fast it wasn't humanly possibly, and his eyes were shining so enthusiastically that made you want to shrink away.

"Ninety percent that it is a date. Seiichi, come with me. We have to confirm the remaining ten percent. This will be good data." Yanagi insisted as he dragged Yukimura and his poisoned ivy after Shuu and Yukiko.

* * *

Shuu and Yukiko arrived at a tall white building. The sign said _Kanagawa Hospital for the Sick and Injured._ Yukiko had been frowning since they left the florist's and kept stopping at intervals.

"What's wrong with you?" Shuu finally cracked. "Is there something with the stupid flowers?"

"No, you insensible nut. You mean you can't hear that?" Yukiko demanded.

"Well, sorry, I don't. Not everyone has your amazing sense of creativity of imagining non-existent sounds in your mind."

Yukiko chose to ignore that comment. "It's there. Something's _there,_ and I know _it_ knows I know. It's kinda like a murmur, but I'm not sure. It's always behind, almost as if it's not there. But I _know it in my gut_."

Shuu rolled his eyes and dragged her into the building, muttering something like 'blind people and their stupid instincts, wasting broad daylight.'

Two shadows behind a tree relaxed. One of them put a hand over his heart.

"That was probably the nearest I could ever come to a heart attack. Renji, are you not afraid _at all_?" Yukimura wiped a handful of cold sweat from his brow.

The other boy, of course, scribbling at a ridiculous speed, did not listen. "No venture, no gain, Seiichi. This data will be immensely useful."

"Renji, you are aware that if we get caught, we will not have a chance to use that data, yes?"

"As I said, no venture, no gain. Do not worry, I have a strategy in case we get caught." Yanagi finally closed his notebook. "By the way, Seiichi, please put down the potted plant. I am sure hospitals do not allow poisoned ivy in their premises." Yukimura put his plant down dejectedly. This was going to be a long day.

To Yukimura's surprise, they actually made it quite far. Yanagi had bluffed his way through nurses and doctors skillfully, and the two ended up in front of a private hospital room, with golden italics on the label: _Oshitari Sho_

"Oshitari... Isn't he one of Hyotei's players?" Yukimura scratched his chin.

"That would be Oshitari Yuushi. But, this Oshitari Sho, he seems to be someone of relation to Oshitari Yuushi." Yanagi mused.

"Eh? Why? There could be plenty of other people called Oshitari. Perhaps this is a fateful coincidence." Yukimura asked, confused.

"Seiichi, this is level nine, the VIP level. This patient must be of somewhat importance to be able to have a room here. And look at the door. Do you see any other rooms with golden labels? This must be a premium VIP private room. Only the most important people may use this room... and it just so happens that the Oshitari Corporations is the founder and current owner of the Kanagawa Institute." Yanagi flipped expertly through his notebook as he replied.

Just then, something made them jump out if their skins. "Um... People without a pass cannot be on this level." A nurse had discovered them and was eyeing them with suspicion.

"We are waiting for our friends to be done with their visit. It seemed to be private, so we told them we'd wait out here." Yanagi lied smoothly.

"Perhaps you could wait downstairs? This is a restricted area." The nurse tried again. At this moment, Yukiura pushed Yanagi aside gently, and flashed a golden smile. Pheromones poured out like a fountain. The nurse swooned.

"My dear... Akemi-san," Yukimura spied the small tag on the nurse's shirt. "Our friends are in the room, and they are greatly distressed by their...acquaintance's condition. I'm afraid they may require moral support when they exit the room. Would you deny such poor people their pillars of support?" He smiled winningly again, and this time the nurse nearly fainted. Her face could compare to that of an apple, and she didn't seem focused on the main topic at all.

"Oh, whatever you wish, my handsome prince... No... don't look at me, my makeup is all smeared... I'm not worthy of your favor, I'm too ugly..." Then, the nurse clutched her face and ran off screaming, "I MET AN ANGEL!"

Yanagi raised an eyebrow. "Impressive."

Yukimura smiled, locking up his fountain of pheromones. "Not as good as you."

After the scene with the nurse, Yanagi produced a bag from nowhere and dug out all sorts of weird items, like, mini cameras, recording devices and spy technology. He produced a weird looking cube triumphantly.

"My greatest achievement, the RenjiCube. This combines a listening device and a recording device, perfect for situations like this." Yanagi pressed a button, and connected a few wires, and flipped another switch. Then he pressed it against the the door and smiled.

"Perfect. It works. Seiichi, do you think you can do the shiny thing again? In case anyone comes?" He asked.

"I can do it a few more times, but it consumes a lot of energy." Yukimura said, as if he were talking about a tennis move. "I think it works on males as well."

"We should leave that as our last resort then. I'll stand guard, and you can listen. Remember to jot down notes." Yanagi thrust him the headphones and the RenjiCube.

The RenjiCube worked okay, but the people talked so softly it was impossible to distinguish the voices. Seiichi could only listen to their conversation to put a name to different voices.

_"I'll put the hydrangeas by your bed, Sho. I know you like them."_

_ "Thanks, Yuki-chan." _If this was Sho, then the one who'd just spoken must be Yukiko.

_ "You see, I've been forced to babysit some extra-large babies lately. They're cute, but I didn't want to be involved in competitive tennis again. You know, after what happened with you, I don't think I'll ever play tennis seriously again." _

_ "Yuki-chan-"_

_ "I met a really nice girl. I think, in a sense, she's kind of like me. Except that she's a thousand times stronger. I tell people I've faced my past, I lie. Sometimes there're things you can never put behind, things that won't be healed, things that will never ever truly go away, forever like a ghost of a nightmare, standing at the edge of the cliff."_

There was a silence. Yukimura tapped the headphones to make sure they were still working.

_ "Shuu, I'm done. You can talk to Sho now." _Was it just the speakers, or did Yukiko sound a bit sad?

_ "Hey bro, things are doing pretty well with me. I think it's the similar situation with me. I find myself playing tennis in a sort of detached way. Yeah, I still enjoy it, but I can't bring myself to take it seriously. Not after you." _This was Shuu, he supposed?

_ "Shuu, I'm sorry..." _He guessed this must be Sho who replied, but he honestly couldn't be sure, with the not-so-good reception.

_ "It's not anyone's fault. I've already rejected five offers to go pro. I still go to camp every holiday, but I don't go to those overseas tour with the others. Camp is...nice. It's funny watching different newbies die a little every day. It reminds me of how we were back then, eh, Sho?"_

_ "Oh, shut up." _There was a short laughter and a small pause.

_ "Yuki-chan, your turn again." _This was must be Sho again, addressing Yukiko with the same 'Yuki-chan' endearment. If Seiichi called Yukiko 'Yuki-chan', she'd probably bite his ten fingers off.

_ "Well, Grandpa's doing fine. A little too fine. He gives me a five-hour lecture every time I call to check up with him. That old man's got a set of amazing lungs, I tell you. He was the one who signed me up for Rikkaidai, without my consent, mind you. He's got a will harder than steel and iron. I miss him, sometimes. But you know where he lives. It's not easy for me to go visit him whenever I want." A smug tone slipped into the voice. "But Shuu adores him, don't you, Shuu?"_

_ "I DO NOT ADORE THAT MURDERER. HE'S A BASTARD-" _Seiichi winced at the sudden escalation of voices.

_ "Just give it a rest, Shuu. You love him, and you can't deny it." _He'd recognize that cheeky tone anywhere.

_ "I DO NOT-"_

_ "Why don't you shut up and let the genius talk? Sho, ignore this retard please."_

_ "Yuki-chan, that's cruel."_

_ "I don't have a choice, do I?" _

Just then, Yukimura felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning, surprised, he found himself facing Yanagi with a grim look on his face. Standing in front of them were an army of doctors and nurses, staring at them with the most peculiar look on their faces.


	12. Pride And Imperfection

**Author's note: Yeah well, this chapter sucks. BTW, I changed the summary, how do you like it? I personally think it's better than the last one, but I want to hear your opinions. Thanks dedicated to SugarTensai for the awesome reviews, SoulXHunter for being a motivation and bluheat for being there when I needed you.**

* * *

"Mifune-san, your grades are good, very good for a blind person-" Yukiko let out a snarl, "but, well, I think your main problem lies with language items. I suggest you find a tutor if you intend to stay at Rikkaidai."

"But, sensei, what about my other grades? They're good, right?" Yukiko slammed her fist onto the table, protesting.

Kobayashi-sensei cleared his throat. "Your Math grade -actually every grade that involves numbers, really- is at the top of the whole year, including Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Economics etcetera. Your level, I'd venture, is good enough for high school curriculum, if you work hard enough. Yet your literature grades-"

"I know, I know," Yukiko grumbled. "Not even up to elementary level, I know. I heard you the first time."

"I can arrange you a tutor." Kobayashi-sensei offered, though his tone suggested that there really wasn't a choice. "He is in my third year Japanese class. He is highly efficient and has tutored numerous students like you, at my request. His Mathematics level is, like you, also far beyond that of a junior high student. You two will get along well."

* * *

Kirihara's first reaction was to laugh.

"Eh? Yukiko-chan, you're failing your Japanese? Even I passed." He snorted in insane laughter.

"Oh, please, Bakaya. My whole overall grade is _double_ of yours. I could give one-third of my Math grade and _still _maintain above average."

"Our average this year is 65.5%. You'd probably have to get a perfect grade..." That promptly shut him up.

"Still, Japanese is easy. You just have to make up some stuff about how inspired you feel. Ten times easier than _Mathematics_." Marui shuddered.

"So is English." Jackal chimed in. "It's like second nature-"

"Yeah, well, that's because you're European." Yukiko huffed.

"Yukiko-chan, Brazil isn't in Europe...it's in South America."

"Oh, stop looking so smug, Bakaya. It's not like _you_ passed your Geography."

"Hey, at least I know where Brazil is!"

"So, you'll meet your tutor tomorrow?" Niou asked as he forked up a piece of beef from his

"Yeah, I'm sure he's gonna be as boring as hell." Yukiko groaned as she flopped down on a chair. "I mean, who gets ninety percent or above in all their subjects?"

"By the way, has anyone seen Mura-buchou? We can't start practice without him." Marui asked.

"Yeah, I saw him in the infirmary at lunch." Niou shrugged. "He was muttering something about no more shiny stuff. He must've finally lost his marbles."

* * *

"So, Sen-chan," Yukiko said after handing Sen her new tutor's home address. "Do you think you can take me there after school?"

"Mn. Yeah." Somehow, after what happened on Sports Day, Sen seemed to have found her groove. She still didn't speak much, but there was no more icy tone when she spoke, and she smiled more often, for her blind best friend, even if the blind girl didn't know it. And the two of them walked down the hallway silently, harmoniously.

* * *

"Yukiko-san, your handwriting is horrible. Would you consider taking up calligraphy?"

"It's not like they take marks off that. And it's not like I'm the one to read them." Yukiko said grouchily.

"It would make the tutoring so much easier if you could just-"

"Robot-chan, are you telling me that after predicting the color of my underwear for two weeks, you cannot simply _predict_ what I'm writing?"

Yanagi shut his mouth. He knew better than to talk back. "According to Kobayashi-sensei, your weakest points in Japanese is understanding the text. Do you use Braille or print? Because I can read both."

"Print. I hate Braille. Did you know a lot of Braille on public infrastructure are spelt wrong? It can get really confusing. And..." She paused, "it makes me feel less out of place and more normal. But sometimes, it's hard to read the print with your fingers. Especially when the ink isn't thick enough for me to feel the words."

After thirty minutes, Yanagi discovered that there were more problems with Yukiko. Not only that she couldn't feel the print clearly, she appeared to have trouble recognizing the words. Moreover, perhaps due to her blindness, she tended to write lopsidedly. Her words trailed off one line onto another, or had irregular bars of space between them.

Example:

Mar y ate an a pp le before she wen t to sc hoo l. S he

i s very ha ppy.

Then, after forty minutes, the handwriting was the least of their problems.

"Yukiko-san, as I've told you for the past hour, you spell 'receive' with an 'i'." Yanagi tried to keep his voice even, but it was pretty hard to do so when you've been repeating the same thing for at least twenty times.

"I know, I know!" Yukiko scowled as she rewrote the word again. This time the word missed an 'e'.

"Yukiko-san..."

"Alright, I know! I'll do it again!"

Yanagi rubbed his temples. "Let's take a break."

* * *

Yanagi handed the girl a cup of orange juice, and the two sat down on a small bench in the veranda.

For a short while, they didn't speak, listening to the chirping of birds and the small beat of their wings.

Then, Yukiko spoke up. "Robot-chan, I can't do this. This is too hard for me."

Yanagi turned towards the blind girl in surprise. The usual proud, confident, hard-driven girl was backing down? "Nothing's too hard if you try hard, Yukiko-san. You'll get it soon."

"No! I just can't. I'm both physically and mentally incapable. It's hopeless." The girl hugged her knees miserably.

Yanagi tried again. "Don't worry, I've coached plenty of other people like you. They all say they can't do it at first, but in the end-"

"Renji-chan, don't you understand? I'm not just saying this or complaining. I'm stating a fact. My brain literally cannot do this." Yukiko took in a deep breath and shuddered. She whispered so softly Yanagi almost couldn't hear it. "I have _dyslexia._"

Yanagi had to blink thrice before the message really got through. "Can you be dyslexic if you're blind?"

"It's not a seeing disorder. It's a mental disorder. My brain has problems deciphering words I feel from my fingers. I feel the letters in the correct order, but when it gets into my brain, they all get messed up." She curled up into a ball, discarding her orange juice to the side. "Please don't tell anyone. No one else knows."

"Why not? If we tell the principal, surely he will make suitable adjustments."

Yukiko took a breath in again. "Because," her voice wobbled, "I don't want to be weak. People already treat me differently because I'm blind. But I didn't choose any of this. I want to fit in. I-I want people to look at _me_, not at my cane, not Google, not my shades, not my eyes. Do you know how absolutely _sickening _it feels when people whisper behind your back? Do you know how _disheartening_ it is when people offer to help you across the road? I want to be normal. I don't need anyone's pity. I want to stand up by myself."

Yanagi paused before speaking, for he knew what he said next would affect the girl greatly. He smiled. "Did you know, Yukiko-san? A lot of people smile just for you, even if you don't know it."

* * *

OMAKE: A scene from what happened at the hospital

"Seiichi, to your right!" _FLASH! _Two nurses down.

"Renji -pant, pant- are we done yet?"

"Don't let your guard down yet! There are still a few in front!" _FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!_

"Renji...I can't do this anymore...I'm completely drained..."

"Come on, one more time!"_ FLASH!_

"No...more...shiny...stuff..." -_thud!-_

"Seiichi? Seiichi! Wake up, wake up!"

* * *

**Author's note: Next up will be the Kanto Tournament, folks. I'll be adding some OC schools and mixing up a lot of stuff, so don't expect everything to stay the same as the original PoT plot. REVIEW PLEASE.**


	13. To Play Or Not To Play (Part 1)

**Author's note: Jesus, this is a load of crap. Fellow people, do not murder me. I hate writing tennis matches, but it would look weird if I didn't. I know this is decades overdue, after I promised to update more frequently. But March and April are kinda like tests &amp; projects season for teachers. I have a Chemistry test tomorrow, and I probably shouldn't be doing this... Anyway, enjoy and review!**

* * *

Wind rustled the leaves on trees, and birds sang to welcome the sun and the beginning of the Kanto Tournament.

_"The doubles two match will now commence. The match between Rikkaidai Fuzoku's Niou-Marui pair and Katayama Chuu's Amano-Asechi pair will begin momentarily."_

"Katayama Chuu, huh? Didn't they come third last year?" Marui popped his bubble gum absentmindedly. "It's a shame that they'll be kicked out so early into the game."

Their opponents clenched their fists. "You bastards...We'll blast you away from the National No.1 spot! Amano, go for it!"

The one who was supposed serve, Amano, crouched into a stance. As soon as the ball met the racket, it disappeared. The sound of the wind suddenly seemed disturbing in the awkward silence.

Marui widened his eyes. "Where's...the ball?"

Amano smirked. "Get some glasses, grandpa. In front of you." True enough, the ball was right in front of Niou's feet.

Niou gaped at the ball. "What the hell?"

Yukiko, who was sitting on the coach's bench with her legs crossed, spat onto the ground. "That's nothing."

The other player, Asechi, grinned. "You may be right that our level isn't on par with yours. But as long as we keep our service games and with suitable strategy, we'll go into tiebreak."

Yanagi furrowed his brows. "I see, so they're targeting our doubles. That is certainly one of our weak points-"

"Oh, relax, Robot-chan. I paired those two up, and I'll see to that they win this." Yukiko waved her hand.

Asechi went to the baseline for his serve. He readied his stance. Again, the ball disappeared again. Apparently, both players could use this annoying move. Marui banged his head against his racket in frustration. Niou attempted to return it once, but missed the real thing by at least six feet.

"Game, Amano-Asechi pair, 1-0! Change court!"

Marui stomped his feet angrily, and Niou caught his collar dragged him to the opposite court. "Oi, Marui!" Niou hissed. "We need to find a way to take their service game. Sanada's face doesn't look good."

Marui took one look at Sanada's face and gulped. "You keep an eye on that Amano guy, I'll take care of the rest."

Fortunately, their opponents didn't seem to have any more trump cards, but their stamina was admirable. No matter how much Marui made them run up to the net with his volleys, they still seemed to be in breath.

"Game, Marui-Niou pair, 3-3! Change court!"

"This is bad. If this drags out into tiebreak, we might actually lose. We don't exactly have amazing stamina." Niou grimaced.

Marui whimpered. "I don't want to die."

Just then, Yukiko smashed her fist down onto her bench. She growled, "Timeout." For some reason, that one small word managed to send shivers down anyone's spine.

* * *

"What are you two doing?" Yukiko demanded.

Niou flinched away. "Well, that serve-"

"Have you been paying attention to my training at all?"

"Uh, yes?"

"Wrong!" She glared at the pair. "That serve is nothing special! Only a stupid topspin! Not even a high-speed ball! Are you telling me after a month of training, you can't even handle a simple spin? Tell me, what have you been doing through the whole match?"

"Well, I was looking at the ball-"

"Exactly! You were looking. Go out there again."

* * *

Niou was fuming. Marui was growling.

"What the hell?" Niou hissed. "Of course we were looking!"

"What else would we be doing? Are we supposed _not_ to look, then?" Marui waved his hand in the air frustratedly.

Niou got went to the baseline and positioned himself, still snarling. Amano at the opposite side smirked as he prepared for a serve.

_ Keep your eyes on the ball. There's no such thing as an invisible ball. _He thought as he readied his racket. _Focus on the ball. You can read the course if you observe closely._

But he knew it was pointless. The ball disappeared as soon as it was served. He'd tried predicting the course, but he wasn't so good at numbers that he could calculate the trajectory before the ball landed. Marui's math was nearly non-existent, so they could rule out him. Yukiko's words rang in his ears again.

_"Have you been paying attention to my training at all?"_

_"Only a stupid topspin! Not even a high-speed ball!"_

_"Exactly! You were looking. Go out there again."_

Damn that stupid blind coach. Damn. _Damn_. His lips stretched into his trademark smirk. The ball was served and disappeared. Amano grinned and began to turn around, prepared for the next serve.

Niou stepped a few steps back away from the baseline and closed his eyes. Yukiko's training had certainly paid off, because now, he could 'see' the leaves rustling gently in the wind, and he could 'see' bees buzzing furiously. And he could 'see' the ball, the ball that made funny spiraling sounds that had just gone over the net and just hit the ground. There was a tiny thud as the ball met the ground and the spiraling sound became lesser. Like a wave that crashed onto the shore and lost all its momentum.

Niou could suddenly see why Yukiko was so frustrated with them. Jesus, he was angry at himself for not realizing this sooner as well. There really was nothing special. Just a trick of the eye. Once the ball hit the ground, most of its spin and power left it.

He took three long strides and drew back his arm, and smashed the ball into the opposite court.

The two idiots at the opposite side didn't know what hit them obviously, because their jaws looked like it needed surgery.

Marui whistled. "Good job. Looks like we'll live through the day after all."

"So, now, with that stupid serve out of the way," Niou cocked his head, the tip of his racket meeting his chin, "it's payback time."

Needless to say, the Amano-Asechi pair were slaughtered.

"Well, boys," Marui grinned as he leaned over the losers. "I have to say, you put up quite a fight. But, rule number one, Rikkaidai always wins."

Amano and Asechi glared at them. "Let your guard down, and we just might steal your doubles one. Still, we got three games out of you. I wonder what your vice-captain has it in for you." With a final snarl, Amano and Asechi stomped off the courts.

Niou and Marui, however, were rather reluctant to leave. A not-so-pleased Sanada Genichirou was standing on the bleachers, with a frowny-faced Coach Yukiko to complement him.

_Nudge, nudge._ "You first, Niou."

"No _freakin'_ way."

* * *

_"The doubles one match will now commence. The match between Rikkaidai Fuzoku's Yagyuu-Kuwahara pair and Katayama Chuu's Lee-Tai pair will begin momentarily."_

"Oh? Their opponents are Chinese, huh?" Yanagi mused as he stroked his non-existent beard.

Two corpses -vaguely resembling Niou and Marui- lay at a corner, untouched. It served as quite a powerful warning of what exactly would happen to anyone who dared drop more than two games.

"I expect more from you two." Yukiko said crossly. "You will demonstrate what you have learnt from my training, or you can join Haruharu and Mint-chan for tea."

* * *

On the other side, the captain of Katayama Chuu smiled. "Good job, Amano, Asechi. You took three games from them."

"I'm sorry, Miyamoto-buchou. We couldn't win." Amano lowered his head.

"Don't worry. We'll take at least one match from Rikkaidai. But," Miyamoto's voice dropped a few octaves, "we should proceed with caution. I think most of you would've noticed by now, the line-ups seem to be arranged quite randomly. They're not taking the preliminaries seriously. That coach," Miyamoto eyed the blind girl suspiciously, "she's pretty confident in her team."

Lee and Tai stepped forward. "Miyamoto-buchou, we'll win this. So you have to win in singles three."

* * *

Jackal and Yagyuu stepped onto the courts. On the opposite side, Lee and Tai wore unreadable expressions, something more than will and determination.

"Which side?" Lee boomed with his bass voice.

"Smooth." The racket fell on said side.

"One-set match. Yagyuu-Kuwahara pair's Yagyuu to serve."

The players moved into their positions. The ball went up, and the match began.

It was pretty normal. Well, as close as normal as you can get up against Rikkaidai. Anyway, it was normal. No loopy stuff, no super play, no disappearing balls. With such normal styles, Yagyuu and Jackal pulled ahead quickly.

Then, it started to get weird after two games.

_Pok! Pok! Pok! Pok!_

The small neon green ball went back and forth.

_Pok! Pok! Pok! Pok!_

_Why,_ Yagyuu thought as he suppressed a small pant of breath, _did it seem that their opponents returned every ball with a backhand?_

Jackal, being the Man with Four Lungs, was not even sweating. But, Yagyuu noted the little grimace Jackal made every time he tried to draw his hand back to hit the ball. He also noticed a small strain on his arm getting more disturbing.

* * *

Yanagi, on the spectator's stand, seemed to catch on.

"Backhands?" He muttered, once again stroking his chin the way he always did when he was thinking. Normally, players use the backhand when the ball is hit to the opposite side of their dominant hand. Yet, Lee and Tai seemed to take extra care to return every single ball with a backhand, only using a forehand when serving. Did it give them any extra power? No. Did it give them some particular advantage? Not that Yanagi knew of.

"That's interesting." Yukimura, by his side, spoke. "Yukiko-san, do you notice?"

Yukiko raised a delicate eyebrow. "I see what you're talking about. Yes, it is pretty interesting. I've never known this kind of play style existed."

"What?' Yanagi demanded. It was at times like this where the experience gap between Yukimura, Yukiko and him became obvious. Yanagi did not like being ignorant, the only one out of the loop.

"The opponent adds a backslice every time. It's pretty subtle, so Yagyuu and Jackal might not notice. When they take the ball with the forehand, it strains the arm to return the slice, because the ball is hit to their non-dominant side when the backhand is used. Their muscles have to be in a pretty awkward position to return the ball properly, especially with a slice added every time." Yukimura paused, then added, "It's like a fly caught in a web. The more you struggle to put the ball pass your opponents, the more strained your arm becomes. How ironic."

"If only the fly could grow a pair of scissors and cut the web."

Yukimura looked at Yukiko in surprise. The blind girl smiled mysteriously, and for some reason, that smile kind of sent Yukimura into a mild case of cardiac arrest. For some reason.

Yukimura winced as he tried to tune down his heartbeat. _I'll have to see the doctor about this._

* * *

The racket hit the ground with a clang. Jackal glanced down in surprise, and choked back vomit. His forearm, without his notice, had swelled into a hideous shape, twitching slightly. Trembling, he prodded the swelling lightly. It didn't hurt, but it felt numb, detached from his body.

"Jackal-kun!" Yagyuu raced over to inspect his arm. Yukiko, from the bench, called out, "Time!" Other regulars raced to help Jackal back on the bleachers.

Yanagi bent down and furrowed his brows as he inspected the swelling. "It is as you said, Yukimura. The muscles in the forearm are overstrained. If the overstrain is continued, Jackal may suffer a permanent damage. I suppose it would be best if he forfeits."

Jackal protested, "No. I can play! I can keep going!"

Yukiko bit down on her lip. "Is it that bad?"

Jackal, taking advantage of their coach's inability to see, spoke up again, "They're exaggerating, Coach. It's just a bit of a swell. Nothing anybody can't take."

The other regulars tried to point out the ridiculous lie, but Yukiko shushed them.

"Are you really sure it's okay?" Yukiko asked dubiously. "You heard what Robot-kun said. Your hand may be damaged. You may never be able to play tennis the same way you do now. I can't judge for myself how serious exactly your injury is, so I'll leave the decision to you. What's your answer?"

Jackal didn't even pause. "I will play."

"Why?"

There was no hesitation, no confusion, no pause. Because the answer was as clear as day and night."Because losing is unforgivable. And the winners must be Rikkaidai."

Yukiko's forehead creased, the corners of her mouth twisting downwards into a frown.

"That's not the answer I'm looking for."

Jackal cocked his head, not understanding.

Yukiko took off her dark shades. Her grey, silvery eyes gleamed as they bore into Jackal's. "That's not what I'm looking for."

* * *

**Author's note: If you have managed to reach the end of this chapter without cringing, please review. I would like to congratulate the lucky human. This is one of the most horrible piece of writing I have ever produced. Thanks for reading :) Review~**


	14. Who Are You? (Part 2)

A/N: Exams are done and gone, for now. Finally updating, finally back. I've written a few new oneshots, check them out when you feel like it. Extra long chapter for all of you, will be updating soon as well. Btw, this story will follow the plotline of the original PoT, with tweaks here and there. This will circulate around Rikkaidai and their eccentric coach.

* * *

"That's not what I'm looking for." Her grey eyes bore into Jackal's.

Jackal widened his eyes, unable to wrap his head around it. "I...don't understand."

Yukiko raised an eyebrow. "It's easy. That's not the answer I want. I want you to tell me something else. Something I've been trying to teach all of you."

There was even more confusion. "Teach...us?"

Yukiko screwed up her face and silently put back on her shades, hiding her eyes once again. "Never mind. It's not my choice to make anyway. Do whatever you want. But when you find a different answer, tell me." Yukiko's expression regained a bit of brightness as her mind wheeled into another more pleasant path. "Now, go kick the butt out of Katayama."

* * *

"Oh? Look at that Brazilian guy's arm." Some of the Katayama cheerleaders murmured. "Are we winning, then?"

Yukimura narrowed his eyes dangerously. "I didn't imagine we would face such an interesting opponent so early into the prelims. We underestimated Katayama."

Sanada drooped his head. "I apologize. If it were not for my inconsistency, we would not be in such a complicated situation now."

Yukimura smiled and put a hand on Sanada's shoulder. "Don't worry. Your training menu may not have been perfect, but we will win this nonetheless."

Yukiko grinned. "You know, for gay dudes, you sure don't downplay your homosexuality. ThunderHorse is the hard-core masochist of the couple, and Child of God the sadist."

There was a long, long, long period of silence.

* * *

Jackal did a few quick stretches on his arm. It was still pretty numb, but he could hold a racket.

"Jackal-kun, I'll cover for you until you recover." Yagyuu muttered. Jackal nodded gratefully.

"The score is 3-2, Kuwahara-Yagyuu pair leads. Katayama Chuu's Lee to serve."

Lee and Tai exchanged a look and nodded. Lee tossed up the ball and served.

Yukimura narrowed his eyes as he scrutinized Lee and Tai. They had a similar playing style to his, and it irked him in a way to see how that kind of playing style crippled players. Yukiko was lying across the bench with her eyes closed, a hint of a grin gracing her lips subtly.

Jackal stood by as he waited for his arm to recover, just enough to keep playing. _We can't keep going on like this. Yagyuu can't play forever. We're at a disadvantage. Our opponents have two players and we only have one. Our opponents aren't bad and Yagyuu's stamina isn't endless. It'll run out eventually. I can't just stand here and do nothing! There must be some way I can help!_

Jackal pulled Yagyuu aside. "Listen, I've got a plan. It's not very good, and it's real bad. Do you still want to hear it?"

Yagyuu replied, "Do we look like we have another choice? Our backs are against the wall, and it doesn't look like the wall's going to give way any time soon. Let's hear it."

* * *

The game was...unsettling. That was the thought that came to Katayama's captain, Miyamoto. Part of the reason was perhaps because of the eccentric blind coach who had the nerve to take a nap in her bench.

They were at an advantage at the beginning, and it seemed the same now, but there was something off with how the purpled haired glasses guy was playing. But he couldn't tell. The Brazilian guy was even weirder. He was just running around the courts doing nothing. He looked towards the bleachers, where the Rikkaidai captain was sitting.

Yukimura Seiichi, the Child of God. He would probably play in Singles One. Any sane coach would put it that way.

Miyamoto cocked his head. The Child of God seemed to be staring at something...in front of him. Following his gaze, he found himself looking at the female coach sitting on the bench.

Right, the coach. He'd heard rumors about her. Some were absolutely ridiculous, say, like she was hiding a set of laser beams behind those dark sunglasses she always wore.

But, most of the rumors circled around the fact that she was an amazing player, probably better than the Child of God. There wasn't enough information on her to begin with, and she didn't have any game records. It was as if she had not existed until now. Her face showed no sign of panic at the sight of her team being in the disadvantage. Like everything up till now was all a part of her calculations. Miyamoto could not understand. Shouldn't the coach put the best players out there? Instead, the order of the lineup seemed completely random. He knew Rikkaidai was good, but wasn't this a gamble? This was the Kanto Tournament. It was not joke. Was she mocking the tournament level? No...it wasn't that. Her attitude when she talked to her teammates was completely serious. She was definitely not underestimating anyone here.

Was it confidence in her trained team? Or was this all some sort of scheme to somehow help the team?

* * *

"Game, Lee-Tai pair, 3-3 all! Change courts!"

When the two opposing pairs brushed past each other, something ignited between the players, like a bomb.

Tai taunted. "Well, this was unexpected. I never thought Rikkai was a bunch of crappy players."

Now, if Tai had been talking to anyone else in Rikkaidai than Yagyuu and Jackal, he probably would have been hospitalized, at best. But thank god for him, he was talking to Yagyuu and Jackal, the only rational and normal (to a certain extent) players on the team.

Jackal simply shot him a glare.

Yagyuu fixed his glasses. "Savor the taste of victory on your tongues while it lasts. Your tactics may have taken us by shock, but Rikkaidai has its ridiculous plays as well."

That left their opponents speechless.

Kirihara gripped the railing of the bleachers tightly. "Coach, will they be alright?"

Yukiko scoffed. "What's with the 'coach' thing? You guys sure are tense. Look at them. Can't you see? They're learning something new every second they spend out there."

Yanagi stayed silent. What that it? All those ridiculous pairings, reckless lineups, crazy training, all _only for the sake of learning?_

As if she could read his mind, her smirk faded.

"Renji," This was the first time she had referred to him with his real name. That alone was enough to shock Yanagi to pay attention to her. "Right now, you are only improving, but you are not learning. Victory is tasteless if you cannot learn from it. Watch this match carefully, and you will certainly see how Jackal-chan and Yagyuu-kun learn from everything."

Jackal, his arm now recovered to the point where he can receive light balls, stood by the baseline. Yagyuu made a two fingered gesture at him and he nodded.

Tai served the ball. It was a normal, straightforward forehand serve. Jackal stretched his muscles and returned it. Lee made an effort to stand in a way where he could receive the ball and return it with a backhand.

Then the strangest thing happened. Yagyuu, on the other side of the courts, also backhanded the ball.

"...What the hell is Yagyuu-senpai doing?" Kirihara stared.

Yukimura gazed at the coach. The blind coach looked..._smug_. This was exactly what she intended for. Something in that smug look punched his gut and jiggly-jiggles all over his body.

_Calm down, Seiichi. It's nothing more than mild admiration._

He tried to believe that as his stomach did another cartwheel turn.

* * *

This game could simply be renamed 'backhand tennis', for both sides kept backhanding the ball.

Lee panted as he chased after the neon green fuzzy ball. His thoughts started to trip over one another, and his tongue tied into knots. The game was supposed to be at their advantage. It is still at their advantage. Was this wheeling sensation the taste of victory? If so, victory isn't very sweet.

The game wasn't getting any much easier than before. Why was that? Their tactic was supposed to weaken their opponents. Tai tried to calm down and think deeply about it, but his mind kept speeding up in tune with the ball. His thoughts raced way ahead of him, beyond the boundaries of sanity.

_Have they become immune to their backhands? No, impossible. Our technique is flawless._ _Then how? How on earth...?_

"To cure a poison, you must feed it with poison." Yukiko said, to no one in particular. "An old Chinese saying. _Attack the poison with poison._"

Yanagi nodded. "So it is. It seems relatively easy to counter the tactic."

"It's not. Your mind has to be sharp. You need to know where the ball will fly and where to stand. For Lee and Tai, I reckon they're not used to being countered. Opponents usually use their forehand to return the ball, thus allowing the ball to fly to the side they are most comfortable with. But, with the opposing side figuring out their trick, and being countered with backhands as well, the gap in experience shows." Yukiko smiled.

"They'll win." Yukimura decided. "There's no need to sweat bullets, Akaya." He threw a glance at the second year ace, who seemed to be shaking from head to toe.

"Oh, leave him be. He's hopeless, that coward." Marui snorted. "He's just relieved we're finally winning."

"I'll go do some warm-up exercises." Yukimura declared.

He heard Marui mutter, "Warm-up exercises? It won't even be a fight anymore then. Bullshit."

They were odd that way. No matter how lightly people talked to you, no matter how relaxed people behaved around you, to the end, Yukimura Seiichi was always superior, above them all, and forever unreachable. They treated him with an air of cautiousness, never letting their guard down, as if Yukimura Seiichi were an animal that could bite off their ten fingers.

Yukimura gripped his racket more tightly. It was true, he though bitterly, that he didn't need to warm-up. Why bother? It's not like it'll make any difference. The opposing team wasn't even trying to win. They were just trying to make the best out of three games. The captain wasn't even slightly shocked or upset that their team had lost. It was like he expected it.

That was how emperors ruled. No one expects to win against you. And of course, no one puts up an effort to win if they don't expect to. Was this even tennis anymore?

"Oi. You. I go with you. Sanada, take the bench. I'll go with Yukimura to do his warm-up." Yukimura turned around in surprise. Their coach was using their real names for once? Yukiko fished out a racket from her bag and poked him with it. "Come on, Yukimura. Start walking."

* * *

"As always, your technique is great, Captain." Yukiko commented as she dashed across the courts to receive the ball.

Yukimura marveled at the confidence she carried herself, never worried that she would run too far or too short. Never hesitating for a spit second to return a ball. Always believing that every ball could be returned.

The balls of her feet punched the ground with surety, like she knew the courts as she knew the back of her fingers. Her white dress fluttered and flapped against her bony knees, and her silver hair curled to frame her cheekbones in the wind.

Seeing the ball returned, he took three long strides and caught up to the ball, and struck it with power.

Yukiko nodded in appreciation. "Good return." She puffed as she bounded over, and stretched the tip of her racket, and barely grazed the ball. But the graze was powerful enough to reverse the force applied to it and sent it back towards Yukimura.

Such potential, such a skillful maneuver of the racket.

Why wasn't she famous? She should be in Wimbledon, at least. Why was she here in Japan, coaching a team she didn't even like that much.

And, just now, she switched back to calling them by their real names. What did that mean?

There was so much mystery around her. He thought he knew her, but he knew nothing beyond her name and class. And that _Oshitari Sho._

Her relative? Her acquaintance? Her friend? Her rival? Her boyfriend?

At the last thought, his heart clenched. The fuzzy tennis ball flew past him and hit the fence behind him.

Yukiko frowned, straightening up from her stance. "Oi, Yukimura, what's wrong?"

Yukimura looked up at her, and really looked at her.

He saw pale, white, irises. He saw silver hair wavering in the wind. He saw a white dress dancing to the beat. And he saw nothing else.

"Coach, who are you?"

* * *

A/N: Important**: A poll about the Zero Blindness that Burns - Who do you think Oshitari Sho is to Yukiko? Vote now, results may or may not affect the outcome of the story.


	15. Mystery 1: Oshitari Sho

A/N: Summer's coming up, got a lot of free time. Remember to vote in the poll regarding Oshitari Sho, although I've already decided how the plot will go at this point. Still, I'd love to see all of your deductions about Sho. Looking forward to seeing all your votes and reviews. Btw, new rule, I refuse to keep writing until I see a considerable number of reviews. So start coming up with those reviews. (wink, wink)

* * *

"Who are you?"

"Me? I'm Mifune Yukiko, you idiot." She smiled, and it was a smile that told you miles about her, and told you nothing about her. There was kind of a wry expression on her face, but Yukimura could tell nothing else.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm here to coach you."

"You don't even want to be here. You must have somewhere else to be." Yukimura was thinking about the hospital.

"I'm carrying out my promise."

"To who?"

Yukiko didn't answer. She turned her head away. "It's none of your business, Child of God."

"Who?" Yukimura repeated. He knew he was being nosy, but there was something deep down in him, yearning to know every single thing about her. "Oshitari Sho?"

Yukiko's head snapped back towards him. Her expression was that of utter shock, horror and fury. In a flash, she was over the net, had pounced on Yukimura bodily. Her thin legs straddled his hips, and her fingers grabbed the collar of his jacket, choking him.

"You will _not_ speak of him. It is absolutely none of your business, not now, not ever. Understand? You may be a Child of God for all I care, but you will leave me and Sho out of everything. Oshitari Sho isn't a name you get to cast around so nonchalantly." She bared her teeth and hissed. Oshitari Sho, she had said his name as if he were a god, as if it were something divine, sacred, and something that could slip out of her fingers so easily that she had to hold on to it tight. There was adoration to her tone, almost something romantic.

But, Yukimura Seiichi was Yukimura Seiichi, and he got what he wanted."I will if you tell me who he is." He said stubbornly.

Yukiko clutched the collar of his jacket even tighter. "You have no right to pry, Yukimura. Butt out." Then, she let go of his collar and walked away.

* * *

"So, in acknowledgement of our first, albeit humiliating, victory in the Kanto Tournament..." Yukiko smiled eerily. The regulars shuddered uncontrollably.

Marui twitched a bit. "I've got a really bad feeling about this."

Sanada grunted in agreement.

Yukiko slammed her fist onto the table. "I'll be upgrading all of your training regimes, seeing as how much of a pinch you were in." Her expression had turned dangerously into a shade of black.

Kirihara groaned. "I knew it'd be something like that."

Yukiko's smile grew even wider. "And we can start right now. Each of you get a bag from over there." She jabbed a finger behind her. "Change into the clothes given, and we can start your new training menu."

* * *

"I knew she was mad at us." Niou grumbled, as he hitched up his ridiculous princess-style ball gown, and slipped gingerly into his heels.

"'Mad' is an understatement, Niou-kun." Yagyuu replied, trying not to bump into anything in his oversized Hello Kitty costume suit.

"It's all your fault that we're in this situation now, senpai. If you had won-" Kirihara protested, grabbing a handful of fabric of his maid outfit, but was cut off mid-way, crashing elegantly into Jackal, who was dressed most beautifully as a lopsided platypus.

"Oi, Akaya, don't push!" Marui complained while trying to untangle his glossy mermaid tail wound in Yanagi Rapunzle-hair wig.

Sanada stood stoically in a corner, observing the chaos in his samurai warrior armor, Yukimura by his side, totally rocking his Elvis-look with his gigantic Elvis wig that grazed the ceiling.

With a lot of complaining and grumbling and yelling, the boys got dressed and (somehow) made it to the tennis courts.

Yukiko clapped her hands together. "Well, now that you've all changed, you will do 50 laps around the school, followed by 30 pushups, ending with 20 rounds up and down stairs. Qualifying time is three hours. Anyone who doesn't qualify will have to redo the exercise. The last one to finish will also do the exercise again." She grinned.

"Wait a minute, Coach, I'm in a mermaid tail!" Marui protested furiously. "How do you expect me to run?"

"You can flop, Mint-chan. No worries." Yukiko waved his protest away. "Sen's going to run with you. She'll be checking each of you, so no slacking. Well, what are you waiting for? Start running for your lives, boys."

* * *

It was perhaps the most comical day Rikkaidai has seen in its era. Rikkai Dai Gaku Fuzoku's most prided tennis team regulars, doing extensive training in ball gowns, mascot suits, maid uniforms, animal costumes, mermaid tails, enormous wigs, and Showa era armors.

"This is your fault, senpai!" Kirihara yelled, ditching his maid apron so he could have more moving space. "If you'd just won 6-0 like Coach wanted-"

"Oh, save your breath, Akaya. You'll need it later when you do your pushups." Niou slapped his underclassman's back.

Marui groaned in utter agony as he flopped desperately after the regulars in his mermaid tail. He was obviously the last. "I _had_ to pick the mermaid tail." He grumbled as he hauled his shiny tail another inch forward. "Damn mermaids."

Yukimura and Sanada kept pace at the front, gaining a large lead over the other regulars.

Yanagi righted his Rapunzel wig and frowned. "This is surprisingly heavy."

Sanada nodded curtly. "This armor is nothing to joke about as well. Probably weighs as much as our coach."

Yukimura chuckled wryly. "Makes you sort of wonder where she got them."

* * *

Marui was last to finish, as expected. He had to redo the whole exercise twice, once for finishing last, and once for not completing within the time limit. After a painful and utterly exhausting struggle, he finished at eight o'clock. Everyone had gone home already.

Ripping off the mermaid tail, he growled as he showered angrily. "Damn her. Damn her. _Damn her."_ Even Jackal, his most loyal friend, had abandoned him. "What the hell is this training? It's not like I'm going to play tennis in a mermaid tail." He shoved the shower head violently back into its place and yanked open the shower curtains. He put on his clothes tiredly and packed quickly to leave.

When he raced to the front gates, he saw the damn blind girl leaning against the gates, as if waiting for someone. She turned her head as soon as he approached.

"Yukimura? Is that you?" She wrinkled her nose. "I can't tell from the sweat. Is it you?"

Marui felt momentarily embarrassed, for no reason at all. "Ah, no. It's me, Marui."

"Oh." A tint of pink crept up her cheeks. "Sorry. You all smell the same to me after practice."

"If you're waiting for Buchou, he left already. I was the last." Marui said.

"No, I wasn't waiting for him. I was just waiting for whoever was left. I just thought Yukimura would be the last." Yukiko shuffled her feet, her schoolbag grazing her knees. She looked really, really, really embarrassed, for some reason. "Um, listen, Mint-chan. D'you-d'you want to go somewhere? For dinner, maybe? If your family isn't expecting you, that is." Blood flooded her cheeks like a broken dam.

Marui stared at the girl. For once she actually looked and sounded like the girls who actually had the guts to talk to the tennis regulars. She was blushing furiously, and she gripped the hem of her skirt tightly. "I-It's not like I'm asking you out on a date or something, I-I was just thinking - never mind, then." She started to leave, but then he finally snapped to his senses.

"W-wait! Yukiko-chan! I'll go with you." Yukiko stopped in her tracks and smiled happily.

* * *

"Wow, this is really good!" Yukiko exclaimed as she bit off another chunk of meat.

"Just how much can you eat?" Marui sighed as he pressed his cheek against his palm.

"When good stuff comes around, you don't give up your opportunities." She said after she swallowed another bite. "Oh my god, what have I been eating until now? This is the finest of heaven!"

"You flatter the chef too much. It's not that good." Marui rolled his eyes. "So, why'd you invite me to dinner?"

She didn't try to meet his eyes as usual. Normally when people spoke, she did her best to face the speaker. "Let's just say I have my reasons."

"You're hiding something." Marui decided.

Yukiko snorted. "Yeah, thanks for not telling me anything I don't know already." She started wolfing down her food again, like the pig she was.

Marui glared at his hands then tried again. "You're hiding something. And as far as I know, you wouldn't withhold anything without suitable explanation." No, she wouldn't, that training manic of a coach and her stupid mermaid tails.

She waved her fork around. "Again, Mr. Professor-in-telling-me-the-obvious, you are so useless. But that's good observation on your part, I'll give you that." She sighed and put down her fork. "Today isn't a day I like to remember. Something happened in the past on this day. Actually, someone was supposed to spend the day with me today, but he stood me up. So I asked you instead."

Marui blinked. "That's all?"

Yukiko snapped. "What do you mean, that's all? Of course that's not everything, you douchebag. You think I trust you to the degree that I'd tell you the whole story of my life? Maybe later, Marui Bunta. I allow you to ask three questions at most, as long as I feel like answering them. After that, please shut the hell up."

He swallowed a gulp of water. "What happened? In the past?"

Yukiko paused before shoving a spoonful of soup into her mouth. "Pass."

Marui groaned. "We're not getting anywhere." Yukiko took off her shades, her white pupils glittering under the LED light.

"Someone got hurt. Someone died."

Marui froze. Yanagi had mentioned something like this a while ago. He was supposedly on some sort of stalking mission and dragged Yukimura to some kind of hospital. They'd come across some name, what was it again? Oshitari? Oshitari Sho? Apparently he was someone really important to Yukiko.

"What happened?" Marui asked.

Yukiko shrugged. "An accident." Her expression grew miserable, even agonized. "I lost a lot things that day. Things I'll never ever get back. Last question."

Marui already knew what he had to ask. It was on the tip of his tongue. Mifune Yukiko was mystery to everyone else. There were millions of other people their principal could have hired as a coach. A blind, short-tempered girl would definitely not be the first choice. As far as he knew, a lot of tennis coaches had tried to apply for the position, but Yukimura had rejected all of them. The principal had always respected his decisions, as long as they won. Why interfere now? Was it the feeble explanation of wanting the third-years to have fun?

Not even Yanagi, the most informed player on the team, knew. When Marui first watched the blind girl play, he was astonished. Such potential, such power, such talent.

Why was not this girl already famous? A blind girl that could play tennis so well, she should be on the cover of tennis magazines. Yet, until now, no one had ever heard of the name Mifune Yukiko. Marui had to begin to know this girl. Starting by the biggest mystery.

"Coach, who is Oshitari Sho?"

* * *

A moment of silence hung over them. Suddenly, Yukiko tossed back her head and laughed insanely. Marui, unsettled, reached out a hand. "Um, Coach? You okay?"

"Me? Okay? Of course not. The secret I wanted to keep most secret, is completely blown. Already two of you have asked me who Sho is. Does the whole team know already?" Yukiko blinked back tears.

"Uh, I guess...?"

"Stop. Just stop. This is my business, and my business alone. All of you have no right to pry." Yukiko snarled and threw down her napkin.

Normally, Marui would have backed down immediately, in face of such a monster. But he continued boldly. "Yukiko-chan. You're more than our coach, you're our friend. I trust you and your crazy training menu. I trust your absurd instincts. And I trust your ability to lead Rikkaidai to our victory. That's why I came here with you, because I believed there was something that was bothering you, and that there was something you had to confess. It's been more than a month already, I think it's time you started putting something other than training into us."

Yukiko regarded him for a moment and smirked. "Well, aren't you a funny man, Marui Bunta. Interesting you should say that." She gave another deranged laugh. "True, true. It's been a month, and none of you know why I'm here. None of you know who I am. Isn't it kind of thrilling this way? Kinda mysterious?" She wiggled an eyebrow. "Be patient, Mint-chan. There will be a time when I'll have to tell you everything about me." She took her bag and stood up, as if ready to leave.

Yukiko smiled eerily. "But I can tell you this at least, for now: you won't be able to ask Oshitari Sho anything, because, in a sense, he's no longer among the living."

* * *

A/N: How's that, my readers? A really huge plot twist for all of you. Oshitari Sho...


	16. Artemis' Bow

A/N: Ah, summer. Summer = Holidays = More time = More chapters. Dedicated to Sugar. Oshitari Sho's real identity will not be released until later into the series. This story will follow most of the canon, including Yukimura's hospitalization. Stay tuned for more (wink). REVIEW PLEASE. Will not update until I see at least three new reviews. (Don't know if I can hold myself back though)

* * *

"W-What?" Yanagi sputtered. "M-Marui, what did you say?"

Marui nodded. "Yukiko-chan said it herself. I'll quote her directly. 'You won't be able to ask Oshitari Sho anything, because, in a sense, he's no longer among the living.' That's what she said."

Yanagi staggered. "Oshitari Sho is...dead? Impossible...I heard him talking to the coach in the hospital. It was only a week ago."

Yukimura laid a hand on Yanagi's shoulder. "Renji, we can't be sure it was Oshitari speaking. The RenjiCube only picked up two variations of voices. We just assumed it belonged to two males and one female. Perhaps all along, it was only one male and one female speaking." [1]

"But, Seiichi, they don't put bodies in hospital rooms. They put the corpses in morgues." Yanagi said.

Marui shrugged. "Maybe Oshitari died after you guys left, some time later. Or maybe Coach and her friend were called to the hospital to see Oshitari for the last time before he was moved to the morgue. In the Kanagawa Hospital, they don't let you go to the morgues to visit the bodies, because it's an infection risk. So doctors give time to families and friends to visit the body after the patients dies in the hospital room. Ah, maybe Ichinose knows. She's Yukiko's best friend, right?"

Yanagi furrowed his eyebrows. "We'll ask her."

But while Ichinose Sen knew about Oshitari Sho, she glared at the boys and refused to say a word.

"C'mon, Ichinose! She's our coach. We have a right to know about this." Kirihara whined.

Sen narrowed her eyes. "You not knowing who Oshitari-san is won't affect her coaching."

"We're _friends._ That enough for you?"

Sen crossed her arms. "Yukiko didn't tell you about him for a reason. If you want to know so badly, find it out yourself. People who don't have the determination to discover things for themselves should stay in the dark." She said flippantly. "Oh, and by the way, Yukiko's not in school today, so I'll be in charge of your training. Be there or be square." With that, she left.

* * *

Yukimura winced as he put weight on his legs. "As expected of Japan's fastest sprinting middle schooler," He muttered as he rubbed his thighs gingerly and frowned. "She sure knows how to hit a sore spot."

Although Sen had made all the regulars run up and down the stairs a hundred times, this degree of tiredness was unusual. At one point, he had actually allowed Sanada to pass him, although he quickly sped up again.

As the captain of the team, he was responsible for cleaning and locking up the club room after training. Yukimura trudged towards the main gate, his legs jerking unnaturally at every step.

"Yo, Yukimura."

Yukimura looked up at the voice. Leaning against the metal bars of the school gates, was a silver-haired girl, with a pair of shades sitting atop the bridge of her nose, her white, milky eyes barely viewable through the lenses.

At that single moment, the girl in front of him was nobody, only the most mesmerizing thing Yukimura had ever seen.

He blinked twice. "Coach? What're you doing here? I thought you weren't at school today."

Yukiko waved her hand impatiently, as if swatting away a fly. "Family matters. I sneaked a bit time here and there so I could come and watch your training, even if it's only a little while. But I guessed I was a bit too late, wasn't I?"

Yukimura smiled, the ache in his legs long forgotten. "You worry too much, Yukiko-san. By the way, just out of curiosity, how did you know it was me?"

Yukiko suddenly blushed furiously. Even the tip of her ears were hot red. "I-I just r-recognized your scent, that's all."

He blinked again. "My...scent?"

"I-It's nothing intimate, I swear!" Yukiko protested, still red from embarrassment.

Yukimura chuckled. "Of course. So, what are you doing now?"

The red blush on her face faded, and she grew more serious. "Let's go to the school courts. We're going to play tennis."

* * *

"Full set. I'll let you serve first." Yukiko drew out a black rimmed racket, and twirled it with confidence. "No need to get too serious, since you still have the Kanto Tournament. Just play."

Yukimura tossed the ball into the air and the game began.

"I've always wondered," He asked, "but how do you play tennis, Yukiko-san?"

Yukiko shrugged as she ran across to receive the ball.

Again, time slowed for Yukimura Seiichi. He watched in awe as the blind girl struck the ground solidly with her bare feet. It was like watching a goddess sprinting across meadows, elegant, beautiful, and powerful. Mifune Yukiko radiated power. Just what was she, that girl? So amazing, so confident in herself, never a second of doubt whether she would be going in the wrong direction. Her shoulder-length silver hair flowed behind her, like a cape draped over her. She was like Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon, the silver, regal moon. Her racket was like Artemis' bow, a deadly weapon, flexible but powerful.

A miracle, a goddess, right in front of him.

Her arm went sideways as she sliced the ball. "Tennis is like an extension of me. I know it like I know myself, and it knows me as well. I was born to thrive in it, and it was born to give life to me. Without it, I am nothing. It is the only other thing I have left from my past." And she said it so plainly, as if she were commenting on the weather. Her love was undeniable, and there was nothing that could sever it. She said, "Show me your tennis. Your _real _tennis. Tell me you're worth coaching. Show it to me through your tennis."

With every strike, Yukimura hesitated. Facing a girl who had already tragically lost one of her senses, he could not bear to steal her remaining ones.

But her eyes, her white pupils, told him she was ready for anything, even if it risked losing her life. And they told him she would kill him if he did anything to hold back.

He gripped his racket and his real tennis began.

_Pok. Pok. Pok. Pok._

The tennis ball went back and forth. The rally kept up for a long time. The awkward silence pierced him. And suddenly, Yukiko tensed up.

"My ball...it's gone." She grasped at thin air, slightly horrified. "Why can't I...feel my ball?"

Yukimura looked at her, at the blind girl who had lost her sense of touch as well, probably frightening her to death. That was what his tennis did. It did not inspire, like Yukiko's did. It scared people, some to the point of quitting tennis. Yukimura looked away, ashamed of himself, of what he stole from everyone he had ever played. Without her sense of touch along with her sight, continuing would be more difficult for her than any other person.

But nonetheless, the match continued, with Yukiko continuing, but still a bit shaken. She did seem bothered by her handicap, but she managed to keep on steadily.

"That's some tennis there. Gave me quite the shock." She chuckled, but the tension was in her voice. She would never look at him the same way again, would never talk to him the same way again, Yukimura thought. _I don't want that._

At the occasions when Yukiko came to the net, he would hear her murmuring unintelligible words, perhaps words of comfort to herself.

And the final moment came, the moment when Mifune Yukiko was completely taken by shock, stunned beyond belief. She dropped her racket, and didn't even seem to notice she did.

_Game over,_ Yukimura thought.

* * *

"Damn it," Kirihara muttered as he ran back to school. How could he forget his homework bag at school? And after his homeroom teacher had threatened to suspend his club activities too. He hoped the guard hadn't locked the classrooms already.

He dashed up the second floor and yanked the door open. Thank god. With five long strides, he went to his seat beside the window and plucked his homework file out of his desk. Unable to control himself, he kissed the file once.

_Pok. Pok. Pok._

The familiar sounds of a tennis ball striking the ground rang throughout the school grounds. Curious, Kirihara peered out of the window.

The coach and the captain were playing. They were playing seriously. Yukiko must have already lost once of her senses, judging by her grimace and slightly rigid movements.

And then, Yukiko dropped her racket. Kirihara knew his captain's tennis well enough to know that this was the end of Mifune Yukiko. After all, there hasn't been anyone who has managed to escape the wrath of Yukimura Seiichi's tennis, and he didn't see how anyone ever could. How do you escape a trap when you can't even sense it?

Watching Yukiko was heartbreaking. At that point, he knew, his tennis was meant to bring sorrow, pain, and fear. His tennis contradicted normalcy. It was abnormal. How he despised it sometimes, when he saw the horror in his opponents' eyes, when he watched as paramedics carted them off, when he looked away from the unsightly play of their feeble attempts.

"Yukimura, your tennis is...amazing." Yukimura looked at the girl. She probably didn't even know she was saying all this. Her words were a slur and tripped over each other. "Most people would think it's terrifying, but it's inspiring. Thank you...Seiichi."

The most unbelievable moment was when Yukiko stood up, wobbling as she did. "I'll definitely play. I'll play until all my limbs break and my muscles tear apart, and I'll keep playing. I'll play until I die."

There was a blinding light. Yukimura stared in shock as Yukiko's forehead burst into flames. The rational part of his brain told him to get a water hose and put out the fire before the girl burnt to her grisly death. The tennis part of his brain told him to get ready for a miracle.

After a few moments, the fire subsided. Yukimura squinted at her forehead, where a mark was left behind on her forehead. It was an eye, with a simple design around under it. He remembered seeing it somewhere.

_The Eye of Horus, also known as the All-Seeing eye and the Eye of Providence, originated from ancient Egypt. It is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, royal power and good health. _[2]

"The Eye of Horus..." His words trailed off in disbelief. "Why is it here?"

Yukiko did not say anything, but she nodded at him, indicating for him to serve.

With unsteady hands, he hit the ball across. And at that moment, the Eye began to _glow_.

"What the hell...?" Kirihara gripped the metal of the window frame. He drew out his phone, and began to record the following match.

* * *

"What is that?" Yukimura panted. He had never been pushed so far in his life. He was the Child of God, for Pete's sake.

His rational brain replied: _Ah, but she is the goddess of the moon, Artemis. A mere child of god cannot compete with a goddess._

His tennis brain snapped: _Oh shut up, you._

After gaining the Eye of Horus, Yukiko seemed to grow stronger by tenfold. No matter where he ran, she was always there before him.

His rational brain chimed in again: _This isn't the Pinnacle of Perfection, the final door. I can feel it's something even more powerful than that._

His tennis brain scoffed: _No shit, genius._

This was definitely not Muga no Kyochi, or any of the three doors behind it.

"Concentrate, Seiichi." When Yukiko spoke, it was as if three Yukikos were speaking at the same time. She drew her bow - no, racket, Yukimura told himself - and fired a shot.

It was a normal shot, Yukimura thought, until it bounced irregularly. He couldn't reach it, no matter what. The point went to Yukiko, 40-0, with the current score 5-3.

Yukiko served. Yukimura went to receive it again. Just before it touched his racket, the ball bent downwards, again irregularly. [3]

"Game set and match, Yukiko, 6-3." She said, and the mark on her forehead faded. Yukimura looked up, and stared in the face the first loss he had ever faced.

* * *

"That wasn't Muga no Kyochi, or any of the three doors." Yukimura said, half-questioning, half-confirming.

"Gah. Those doors are worthless. You don't need them." Yukiko jammed her racket into her bag, zipping it shut.

"Then, what was that just now? That Eye of Horus?" He asked.

She hoisted her bag onto her shoulder. "I'm surprised you recognized it. It's a state called the Third Eye. It's much more powerful than those stupid Pinnacles of blah blah blah. While the Pinnacles bring out your potential, the Third Eye _gives_ you potential. They're very different things. The Third Eye is also one of the reason I play tennis. When utilizing it, I can See again." [4]

"You can use your eyes again?" Yukimura asked incredulously.

"It's 'See' with a captial s. It doesn't work like that. I don't know how to explain it, but I See everything that happens on the court. It's almost like having my eyesight back again. You See _everything._ You See so much it's impossible to put into words. You just See." Yukiko insisted.

"You're not making any sense."

"Ah, but I never do, Seiichi."

"By the way, since when do you call me Seiichi?"

"Since now." Yukiko smiled. It was the kind of smile that could blind someone, no pun intended. "I love your tennis, so I love you too. I love you, so I call you by your first name." For some reason, hearing her saying 'I love you' gave Yukimura some sort of heart attack.

"You love my tennis?" He asked. No one had ever told him that.

Yukiko smiled again. "By stealing my senses, you sent a message to me. You told me not to give up on tennis, no matter what happened. You told me to love tennis more than myself, not just because it was all I had left, but because it was me. It took me a while to realize, but when I did, it was the most amazing that happened to me. Only your tennis can do that to a person. So I love it."

And she said that like it was the most natural thing ever. Somehow, Yukimura believed her.

* * *

[1] Refer back to Chapter 11: Mission 101: Stalking. It never was made clear whether Oshitari Sho ever participated in the conversation. That was only the interpretation of the conversation based on Yukimura and Yanagi's assumptions.

[2] Information found on Wikipedia. Google 'Eye of Horus' and check out what it looks like!

[3] This is Yukiko's real style of tennis: a play of irregular bounces and curves.

[4] This will be further elaborated in future chapters.

REVIEW.


	17. My Name Is Oshitari Yukiko

A/N: Hey, new update. Thanks to all my lovely reviewers, really. Again, same rule. No update until I see at least five new reviews. (Note: I changed the criteria to five, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA) And no, this isn't an excuse to delay my updates because I'm stuck. At any rate, hope you enjoy. Heads up, Oshitari Sho's real identity won't be released all in one go. I'm going to let out clues and hints in various chapters, and YOU have to put them together for the final reveal to make complete sense. So yeah, the first real clue is in this chapter. REVIEW FOLKS. Seriously. By the way, this story will be slipping a toe into the New Prince of Tennis arc (Note: just a toe. Not too much.), so make sure you guys know the basic stuff about NPoT before I release the next chappie. But then, again, I'll explain things once again in my own story, so it's just for background info. Oh, and don't forget to vote in my poll about Oshitari Sho (MUWAHAHAHAHA), I see that some of who are quite observant and are on the right track. If there is anyone who can make out Oshitari Sho's real identity without mistake, I'll put in a special treat for the story :)) (maybe something like an OVA...depends.) Tell me your hypotheses in your reviews! If you're on the right track, I'll try to make a special chappie later! (wink, wink) So REVIEW.

* * *

"Should we go out for dinner together later?" Yukiko wondered aloud, as she supervised some non-regulars in their training with Yukimura. "Oi, pack more power into the ball, Makishima!" She shouted at one of the non-regulars, and turned back to the captain. "Seiichi?"

Yukimura was wincing, and his hand was clenched into a fist. He looked straight ahead, and didn't even seem to notice the girl had spoken.

"Seiichi? Are you there?" Yukiko asked again. Yukimura jolted in surprise.

"Yes?"

"Really, are you deaf now?" She frowned. "As I was saying, we should go out for dinner together for dinner later. With the team." She added. "Team-bonding. Maybe include some of the non-regulars, since it doesn't seem fair to exclude them every time."

"Sure. Why not?" Yukimura rubbed his thigh unconsciously.

Yukiko showed an odd expression. "You're so out of it today. I'll watch over them by myself, you can sit down and take a rest, Seiichi."

"You've said my name three times in this conversation already. Do you like it that much?" He teased. That promptly earned a punch from the girl.

* * *

"Hmm, where should we go, Yagu-chan?" Yukiko mused on the train. (She had taken to calling Yagyuu Yagu-chan recently)

"Perhaps some French cuisine? I know a good place nearby." Yagyuu suggested.

"Eww. Too romantic. You guys would look so gay in there, and I would look so awkward. Maybe when we're alone, Yagu-chan." She shot down that idea.

"Burgers?" Niou said.

"That is so cliche. Besides, you're athletes. Something healthier?" She shook her head.

"Sushi." Kirihara suddenly piped up. "I want sushi."

Sanada nodded (stoically), "That is a commendable choice, Akaya. Coach?"

"Well, if we're going to have sushi, this is our stop." She said. "They have the best sushi in this area, I hear." Yukiko hauled her bag over her shoulders. "Seiichi? Seiichi, this is our stop."

"Oh, okay." Yukimura pressed a hand against his arm. "Just tired."

"C'mon."

As Yukimura stepped out of the train, the blinding light of the setting sun shone at him, and blinded him for second. In that second, his vision went completely white, and then tumbled into complete darkness. He stumbled a few feet, his knees buckled and fell, hopefully not onto the tracks. He could hear the train leaving. And silence.

And the world went blank.

* * *

"Genichirou, where's Seiichi?" Yukiko asked. And the team turned around, just in time to witness their captain crumbling to the ground, and smash into little tiny shards.

Sanada widened his eyes. "Yukimura!"

"Buchou!" Akaya ran to the captain's side.

"What happened? Seiichi?" Yukiko cried. "Seiichi?"

"He's collapsed. We don't know why, but call an ambulance, hurry!" Yanagi shouted. With trembling fingers, many of them drew out their phone, and started dialing. "Wait, don't call all at once, or it can't get through! Get one of us to call!" Yanagi said.

"I'll do it." Yukiko flipped open her phone. Her fingers, so familiar with the keys, flew over them.

After a minute, she said. "Our friend's collapsed. We're at the Oguchi station. No. No. Yes, please hurry. My name is Mifune Yukiko."

In almost the speed of light, an ambulance pulled up beside the station, and paramedics rushed towards them with a stretcher. With ease, they set him down gently on the stretcher and took him back to the car. Yukiko attempted to ride on the ambulance.

"I'm sorry, but only family members are allowed." A paramedic denied her access. Yukiko glowered and beckoned the man come closer. She whispered something into his ear. For some reason, the man suddenly tensed up. He glanced left and right, and quickly pushed her into the ambulance.

"You guys, head to the Kanagawa Hospital, we'll be there waiting." Yukiko called out, before the paramedic shut the doors hastily.

With a suspicious glance at the boys, the paramedic hurried to the front of the ambulance.

* * *

As soon as the ambulance reached the hospital, the paramedics did their job and rushed Yukimura into the emergency room. A nurse hurried forward and approached Yukiko.

"I'm sorry, miss, but only family members are allowed in this area." She said apologetically.

"My name is Oshitari Yukiko." And that was all it took. Before the nurse could leave, Yukiko grabbed her arm. "Make sure he receives the best treatment, from the best doctors, as soon as possible. Give him the VIP room. Or else..." The nurse looked at her, horrified, and nodded once.

Yukiko sighed. Normally, she didn't like to manipulate people with her unique (unique was an understatement) status, but this was a crisis. _Seiichi..._

The doctors had already wheeled Seiichi into another room, and Yukiko had no idea where to go. Sighing again, she pulled out her phone, and dialed a number.

_"Hello? Who is this?"_

"Yuushi. It's Yukiko."

_"Yukiko? How rare you call me. To what do I owe this pleasure?"_

Yukiko gripped her phone tightly. "Yuushi. Please. Help me."

* * *

When the regulars reached the lobby of the hospital, there were nurses there to receive them, oddly. They took them to level nine.

Yanagi frowned. "This is the VIP level. Why on earth..."

"Maybe Buchou is actually a celebrity." Akaya suggested with little enthusiasm.

"95.24% of chance that this has something to do with our coach." Yanagi said. "Oshitari Sho's room is -I mean, was- on this level too. I'm fairly sure Yukiko-san has some sort of connection to the Oshitari family."

"The Oshitaris?" Marui frowned. "Why?"

Yanagi fished out his notebook, and began to read. "The Oshitari family comes from a long line of doctors. Stepping into the 21st century, it has developed into an influential and powerful family among aristocrats. The current head of the family is Oshitari Eiji. Following the next in line will be Oshitari Yuushi. Oshitari Yuushi, studying in Hyotei Gakuen, a third year, in the tennis club. I firmly believe that he is of some relation to Mifune Yukiko."

Speaking of the devil, Yukiko appeared around the corner, crouching by the wall, on the phone heatedly with someone else.

"Nonononono, Kanagawa Hospital, remember? The one Sho is in. Nonononono do not tell your dad or I'll kill you in a way that you will regret you ever lived please no just don't tell anyone apart from Shuu. Mm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I told them my name. No, it's not like that. I just need to make sure he can recover as soon as possible. Uh-huh. Okay. Between you and me, okay? Right. Bye." The line must have went dead, because Yukiko slumped against the wall, as if defeated, and curled into a really, really small ball.

Niou nudged Yagyuu. "Do we call out to her?"

"She seems distressed." Jackal noted.

"Like, duh." Niou rolled his eyes.

"Yukiko-chan." Akaya approached the ball of Yukiko. "Where's buchou? Why are we here on this level?"

Yukiko leaned on the wall for support. "C'mon. He's right over here. They've just finished the tests."

* * *

They reached a sanctioned area on the level, where everything was white and smelled strongly of sterilization.

"Put on masks and clean suits. It's a clean area from here onwards." Yukiko said, putting on a clean suit a nurse had given her.

"A clean area?" Kirihara repeated. "Why are we here?"

"You want to see Seiichi, right? Well, he's in here. They're still running various tests on him, so we're not allowed to enter the room, but you can see him through the glass." Yukiko said. Sanada gripped the hem of his suit.

"Have they found out what is wrong with him?" Yanagi asked.

"They have a basic understanding of what's happened, but no, they still need more research until the test results come out. It's a rare and complicated situation, I quote." Yukiko bit her lip. "It might not be until midnight when the results come out, and we can't stay in this area for too long. Seiichi will be rearranged elsewhere when the tests end, too, but it'll still be somewhere around this floor. We're just going to take a look, and we'll have to leave." She added, for the sake of the glaring nurse next to them.

The nurse pointed at the glass window to their left. "Here we are." The regulars crowded around the window, jamming for space to take a peek at their captain.

Seiichi was laid in a bed, with two to three doctors surrounding him, their mouths moving urgently and flicking rapid fingers at clipboards and monitors. It definitely did not look reassuring. Nurses were hurrying here and there, eyebrows furrowed into one single line, as they rushed tools and apparatus towards the bed. Jackal was the first to leave the crowd. He stumbled towards the opposite wall, slid down it, and buried his whole body in his arms.

Yukiko leaned next to Jackal, eyes closed. "Jackal-chan? I'm going to leave this area for a while. Tell the others not to worry, I'm just going to take a walk. Alright?" By the time Jackal could bring himself to lift his head, she was already gone.

* * *

It was almost like home to her, except it wasn't. She'd been in and out of this hospital for more than a million times, ever since eight years ago. She knew the layout of the hospital by heart, and knew how many steps she should take before turning around a corner without even thinking.

She heard a pair of feet walking down the hallway opposite to her. "Oh, Mifune-san? Come to visit Oshitari-sama again? I'm Akemi, by the way, but I'm sure you recognize my voice already." It was a nurse, smiling at her, even though Yukiko could not see the smile. Yukiko smiled back.

"Partly. A friend of mine is taking some tests right now, so I've come to see Sho until the results are out." She repied.

"Oh, I see. Well, Oshitari-sama is in a good state right now. I'm sure he'd be thrilled if you dropped in. If you need anything at all, just press the button and I'll come running. Okay, sweetheart?" It was still the same endearing tone nurses always used with her. It was almost like having a family again, except it wasn't.

"Thank you. I'll make sure of that, Akemi-san. Thank you." Yukiko smiled again and kept walking. Sometimes, it creeped her out how well she knew the place. _But I know the tennis court even better, _she reminded herself.

She arrived at Sho's room, ran her fingers over the sign, just to make sure. Just then, at the most unlikely timing, she might add, her phone rang.

Sighing and cursing the caller for breaking her reverie, she punched the receive button. "Hello?"

_"Yo."_

"Shut your trap, Shuu. What do you want? I don't exactly have time to spare for freeloaders."

_"Respecting your elders as you always do, Yuki-chan. I'm glad to hear you haven't changed."_

"Oh, right. Like you're my elder."

_ "Anyone older than you is qualified as your elder. And I outgrow you five years."_

"I really don't need to waste any more time on you. I'm hanging up."

_"I suppose that's the attitude to a family friend who's calling to check up on you."_

"I really don't consider you a family friend. If it wasn't for Sho, I'd have murdered you ten times over."

_"Aww, don't be like that. I'm coming to Kanagawa tomorrow. Thought I'd give you a heads-up."_

"Again? Does your school even have, like, classes? I mean, at all? Do you even get to suck anything into that ridiculous brain of yours?"

_"How polite. I'm much smarter than you, thank you very much. I don't need to study like hell to get into a good school, unlike someone like you."_

"My math skills are so much better than you. Stop changing the topic. Why are you coming again?"

_ "I'm coming to check up on my BFF, duh."_

"I'm sorry, but you're not my BFF, and I seriously don't need you to check up on me."

_"Don't flatter yourself. I'm not coming for you, narcissist. I'm coming for Sho. Any update on his situation?"_

"It's still the same. Like it's always been in the past decade. So, I'll come pick you up at the station?"

_"Please. I've been to Kanagawa before. I know my way around. Meet you at the hospital."_

"Yeah. But I'll probably be in another room, so call me when you get here."

_"Eh? Why?"_

"I'm coaching Rikkaidai's tennis team, like I told you. The captain collapsed. I need to check on him."

_"Oh...? Deja vu, anyone?"_

"Shut up. Meet you here at the hospital. I'll probably spend the night anyway. Pick up Google for me before you come?"

_"Yeah. Sure."_

"Bye."

_"Bye."_


	18. Without You

A/N: I know, don't kill me. This is decades late. *Excuses rolling off my tongue* I was busy with school and all that crap. This new chapter is shit. Don't kill me. I think this is worth a few month's of misery. Plus, I don't know when I can finish chapter 19 finish for you guys, so focus more on my other stories. I have a new story that I have been working on these few months, and I think you might enjoy it. Think of it as a treat for all your devotion *wink*. It'll be uploaded soon. Now to the story. Do not murder me. I repeat, this chapter is a load of shit.

* * *

Flipping half-heartedly through a magazine, chancing a glimpse of a photo of himself of the front cover, he dismissed it with minimal interest and tossed it to the seat next to his.

The train was pretty empty, which wasn't strange, considering it was about five in the morning. Shuu ran his fingers through his hair, stretched his legs sideways until it nearly hit the man sitting in the opposite row. The man gave his legs a dirty glance, and withdrew his own disdainfully.

Hiding a smirk, Shuu laid back in his seat, satisfied. His cell phone buzzed, alerting him the arrival of a new text, and he flipped it open, wondering idly who on earth would be texting him five o'clock in the morning. When he saw the sender's name, he realized he was being stupid. _Of course it'd be her._

_When are you arriving, dick?_

With a grin, his fingers flew over the phone keypad.

_When you wake up, sleeping beauty._

The reply came a few seconds later: _Shut up, dick._ _With Sho. Get your arse over my house and bring Google over._

* * *

It didn't help that he didn't have much of a sense of direction. Usually, Yukiko would go to the station to pick him up, and take him to the hospital. The last time he'd been here also turned out a disaster with him nearly boarding a bus to the Narita airport. Within the five minutes he had gotten off the train, he'd landed himself in somewhere completely unfamiliar.

"Strange. I swear..." Shuu shrugged, and headed back down the way he came. As he walked down the alley, familiar sounds rang down the streets. The hitched breathing, the sound of a tennis ball hitting a racket. His ears perked up. He cast a longing glance at where the sounds apparently came from. _I can afford to be a little late, _he decided, and skipped down to where the sounds ringed from.

* * *

Yukiko slid open the door silently, and slipped inside as quietly as possible. It was five in the morning, and she didn't want to wake anyone, right? Not that there was anyone for her to wake. She approached the bed, and bent down to brush her lips against Sho's. It was a frequented practice.

He was asleep, as always. Her hair had grown a bit longer, and it wrapped around Sho's face as she bent down. If only she could see his face... she withdrew her hand, half-unwillingly. Being with him like this made her feel so vulnerable, and so childish. She could feel all the pressure crashing down, and the facade she's kept up with her team shatter into a thousand pieces. There was so much drama going on in her brain...her team, school, Seiichi, Sho, Shuu...

She felt everything that had happened catch up with her, and began sobbing uncontrollably, "Sho, I miss you. I know I've said this for a million times, but I miss you so badly. I miss the way you run with me, I miss the way you talk to me, I miss the way you play tennis with me, I miss the way you hug me, I miss the way you comfort me, I miss the way you help me, I miss you. I want you back. It's been so incredibly lonely, so incredibly unbearable, so incredibly wrecking, you wouldn't believe it." Her breath caught in hitches, the horrible it did whenever she cried too much. "I've lost so much already, so why did you have to go as well? Was it that hard to stay?" She cried, "What am I supposed to do? Everything with my middle school life is going wrong right now. Seiichi's collapsed, and I have no idea what I'm going to do. My team is in pieces, and we have another amtch two days later. I have to get myself together, but I don't know how to do that."

When Sho made no effort to reply, she grew angry. Blood surged through her veins as she screamed, "Wake up, you moron! Wake up! You dumped all this onto me, it's your fault! If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be coaching the team, and I wouldn't feel be so _insanely worried out of my mind _ about Seiichi! If it weren't for you, this wouldn't happen to me! Sho..." Her wails merged with her sobs and cries and screams, and she felt completely miserable. "Sho... help me...I don't know what I'm going to do...Sho..!"

After almost a decade, her tears stopped. Yukiko felt Sho's cheeks with her fingers, and kissed them. She clutched at his neck, and hugged it until she felt that his neck would break. Her tears had dried against her cheek, making it a bit crusty. She'd cried as hard as when her mother had passed, though not as long. She felt almost the same as she did back then, except not as strongly. But she was so used to Seiichi being around, it just felt natural to cry for him.

_If there isn't anyone to weep for you when you die, why did you even exist?_

Sho was the only person she could cry to without restraint. He was always the one who had given her support when their parents could not. He was always the one to wipe and hide her tears from their parents. When he was hospitalized and immobilized, it was like her heart was immobilized with him as well. When he came close to dying, she nearly died herself. If he died, she would kill herself without a doubt, leaving behind nothing.

* * *

Sanada paced around the hallway, beads of cold sweat rolling down his cheeks to his uniform. He had woken up extra early to head to the hospital, to check on Yukimura. There wasn't any news yet.

He grabbed a tuff of his hair, a half-deranged look in his eye, and tried to tear out his hair. A nurse cast him a frightened look, and hurried away.

They were supposed to go to the Nationals. They were supposed to be the emperors holding the reins. Yet, yet...! They had poured their souls into the team, and this year's team was supposed to be perfect, with an improved Kirihara. Their last year was supposed to be perfect, even with a coach to help them.

Why did Yukimura had to collapse? A match two days later, with the team in pieces and captain-less. Sanada could not imagine a worse situation. Yukimura was their guarantee. Whatever went wrong, he would always be in Singles 1 to fix it. It was like having your insurance account taken away just as you stepped out onto the war zone. He suddenly felt naked and unprotected.

They were supposed to have morning practice today, but no one was in the mood. It was cancelled.

_Keep calm, Genichirou. Seiichi would want you to stay focused and alert and calm. What would Seiichi do in this situation? Call for backup? Call for practice? Call for what? What? _Sanada sank his face into his palms. Never in his rein of the vice-captain has he experienced such terror and fear. _Calm. Down. Genichirou. Talk to Yukim - no. _His instinct to turn to Yukimura for problems was still active in his brain. But then, with the situation right now, who should he consult? Yanagi, well, he doesn't seem like he should be disturbed. After the regulars had left the hospital yesterday, Yanagi was in such a daze that he nearly hit a light pole in the street. He kept murmuring about data data data, it was as if he couldn't believe he had not calculated this. Truth to be told, no one had. Yukimura was always the support of the team. He was softer and gentler than Sanada, but he commanded his team with the same power as he did, perhaps even more. His presence rivaled that of their coach- Their coach.

Sanada jumped to his feet. Yes, their coach! How could he have forgotten her? He ran down the hallway, grabbing nurses on the way, half-asking, half-shouting, "Have you seen Mifune Yukiko? Blind, short, silver-haired, a bit bad-tempered? Over there? Thank you!" Honestly, he was pretty surprised at how nurses understood his description. Yukiko must be a very frequent visitor here for the nurses to know her so well like that.

He arrived at a room. The label read _Oshitari Sho._ Just as he was about to go in, he heard a wail and cries coming out of the room.

"Sho... help me...I don't know what I'm going to do...Sho..!" It was Yukiko's voice. Sanada froze. He had never heard their coach sound so...vulnerable. It was unimaginable that such a strong and fearless girl could sound so broken, as if she had been torn apart into pieces. Why she sounded so broken, Sanada did not know. Even he, who had known Yukimura since kindergarten, had not reacted so emotionally.

Sanada leaned against the wall opposite to the door, and listened to the blind girl's screams and cries.

* * *

Kirihara smashed the ball against the wall ferociously, sweat dripping from his forehead. The foggy morning did not help clear his head, and nor did the intense tennis practice. The ball bounced back towards him in the same ferocity he had hit it with, and he caught the ball in his hand. In a surge of anger, he threw his racket against the wall. It broke, the handle bent in a way no handle should ever be bent in. Staring at the racket, he felt another fit of anger at himself for breaking his racket, and he grabbed another racket from his bag, and attacked the wall once again.

"The wall's not to blame for whatever your troubles are, kiddo."

Kirihara whipped around, driven half-mad by the adrenaline, and found a white-haired boy with chocolate dark skin leaning against the fence, playing with a racket in his hands.

"Who are you?" Kirhara snarled. The boy laughed, and irked Kirihara even more.

"You're in a pretty bad mood, kiddo. You're not gonna let it loose anytime just by playing the wall. How about a one-point match?" The boy wiggled his eyebrows teasingly.

Kirihara straightened and walked towards the boy. He tilted his head, and asked, "Name?"

The boy ran a hand through his white-hair and grinned lopsidedly. "Tanegashima Shuuji." Kirihara cocked an eyebrow. The name was awfully familiar.

The white-haired guy shrugged off his jersey, and tossed a racket into his hands. "You can afford one-point, kiddo." He promised as he stepped onto the court. A devilish grin settled on his lips. "But I'll bet my life you'll be screaming for more." He touched the frame with his fingers.

Kirihara scowled. "Getting ahead of yourself, aren't you? Hurry up and make your serve. I'll crush you so quickly, you won't even have time to react."

Smiling, the guy played with the ball. "Are you sure, kiddo?" He tossed the ball up with ease. "No time to react is right; for you, that is."

And it was over. His arm didn't even move, but the ball crashed so thunderously into Kirihara's side it was impossible.

What had happened? This guy... Kirihara turned to face him. He licked his lips, feeling more alive. "More."

* * *

The coffee in the hospital tasted horrible. Not that she didn't know already. Yukiko dumped what was the last of her instant coffee into the trash can. She felt even more miserable, if that was possible.

She had no idea how Seiichi was doing; her team was in pieces; there was going to be a match tomorrow; the team had no captain; the Singles One spot was empty; _she _was in pieces- she was desperate enough that she would play in Singles One herself if she could.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She whirled around and caught the scent, and relaxed. "Gen-chan? Has school ended already?"

The stoic vice-captain nodded once. "We have to change the lineups."

Yukiko smiled weakly. "Of course. Why don't we just sit down here and we can talk all about it?"

Sanada helped her to the nearby bench, and he took out a thin stack of documents, and handed it to the coach. She took them, and asked blankly, "What are these?"

"Lineups from past years, and different doubles combinations, along with the degree of effectiveness. Yanagi compiled it for me. You might be interested."

Yukiko handed it back to Sanada, and sighed, "How 'bout you read it to me? I can't read this. My fingers can't feel letters that are too small."

Realizing his mistake, Sanada looked down abashedly. "...I apologize." He'd been so used to strategizing lineups with Yukimura, he had forgotten that this was his blind coach.

"Put down your name down at Singles One. We'll start from there." She leaned back, stretching her legs. "You go through the notes from Ren-chan as I think of pairings, 'kay? Of course, the best possible outcome would be to have us win in straight sets, and finish with Singles Three; but considering the factors that tomorrow's opponent has been on a winning streak lately, and our team's isn't in the greatest condition right now, it would be best to have some insurance on hand."

Sanada nodded again, diligently writing down everything. Yukiko pursed her lips, and folded her hands behind her head, "Singles One is a cinch...Ren-chan is less likely to be overly affected by this ordeal...Masaharu keeps his composure well...Okay. Ren-chan and Haru-chan in Doubles Two. They'll be able to shore up our momentum with a victory right off the bat. Doubles One...Bunta and Jackal are an old pair, right? Alright, put them together; they're our best bet. Who have we left?"

She relaxed her shoulders. Sanada glanced at his notes. "Yagyuu and Kirihara." Yukiko frowned.

"Singles Three...give it to Akaya. If he loses, tell him he gets to play doubles all through the year. Pressure him for me, Gen-chan?" She smiled. "Okay, all done. Anything else?"

Sanada turned to face her, even though it wasn't necessary. "We, the Rikkaidai Tennis Club, value honesty over everything else. With no secrets between us, our cooperation is upped. That is the way Seiichi and I have upheld our team's morale."

She puffed out her cheeks, and blew a mouthful of air. It smelled like coffee. "I know what you're trying to tell me, Gen-chan. But now is hardly a good time, don't you think?" Yukiko bit her lip, and her voice dropped to a whisper. "I can barely pull myself together."

It was so out of character for him, Sanada surprised himself even, but he set a hand on the girl's hair. He immediately flushed after he did so, but thank the heavens Yukiko couldn't see. Averting his eyes instinctively, he pinched his nose abashedly, "...It's been hard on you, Mifune."

Yukiko smiled. "Ho...so the bear is actually a sweetheart deep down?"

* * *

Shuu pursed his lips. "I don't wanna."

"Heeeeh?" Kirihara protested in outrage, but it wasn't exactly effective with him crawling on all fours. "Why? You were the one who challenged me! One more match is nothing."

Shuu twirled a lock of his hair infuriatingly. "Well, firstly, you suck. You are above average, but nowhere near me, to be brutally honest."

If Kirihara had a drop of energy left in his arms, he would've punched him, but alas.

Sensing his frustration and anguish, Shuu smirked. "Secondly, I'm late for my date already. I was only intending on a one-point match originally, but you kept pestering me for more. Thirdly, even if you didn't suck, and I weren't late, you are so dead tired you look as if you might pass out in a heartbeat. It would hardly be of any benefit to either of us if we dueled now." Shuu bent down to extend a hand to the boy. "C'mon, kiddo. You look lifeless." Growling, Kirihara made an attempt to bite the hand, but Shuu pulled away just in time. "Ooh, scary." He laughed, and stood up. "Guess I'll be seeing you around, big guy."

Shuu slipped his racket back into his bag, and made his way for the exit.

"Wait," Kirihara called, "what's your name?"

Shuu paused, and turned around to stick his tongue out. "Kirihara Akaya." And he whisked out of the courts.

Punching the ground, Kirihara swore, "That bastard."

* * *

"Oshitari-sama?"

Yukiko stood up immediately. "Doctor? I'm over here." She heard the shuffling of feet coming towards her. "How is Seiichi- Yukimura-san?"

The doctor cleared his throat. "I'll say this frankly. It's not looking good. I hope you have already informed his parents of this. This is confidential information."

Yukiko gritted her teeth. "You can tell me, right?"

The doctor narrowed his eyes. "It's still unclear at this stage, but we suspect it's Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Cause is unknown at this point. His condition really isn't too pretty."

She swallowed. "But he'll recover right? He has to play tennis at the Nationals-"

"Tennis?" The doctor nearly screeched. "I apologize for my rudeness, but are you kidding, Oshitari-sama? He needs treatment. If he's lucky, he'll get better with daily immunoglobulin therapy in a year or two, but not fully cured. If he's not, he doesn't even get to survive. I'm sorry, but there's no way that boy can play table-tennis nationals or whatever. His sports career is finished."

She slumped into a seat. "Is there no cure at all?"

The doctor sighed, and scratched his forehead. "It's not like there's none. Did you read the news yesterday? An American professor just proposed a plasma exchange surgery that may fully cure patients with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, but it's just hypothesis. It hasn't even been tested out. At this point, I'm afraid we can't do anything right now. You must let Yukimura-san's parents know."

* * *

A/N: REVIEW. I need reviews to fuel me. For those who have made it to the end, I want to dedicate this chapter to SugarTensai, SoulXHunter, Liya Heartless, xcherry91x, and reina. Your reviews kind of really energized and motivated me :) Thanks a dozen. If it weren't for all these sincere reviewers, this chapter might not even be out next year. Heads up, guys: I am stuck on this story. No worries, I won't ditch this. But it will take longer for me to upload new chapters for TZBTB from now on.

_Short round-up regarding the mystery of Oshitari Sho:_

\- Sho is still lying on the hospital bed, despite Yukiko implying that 'he is no longer among the living'.

\- Yukiko is Oshitari-sama?

\- Yukiko is somewhat connected to Oshitari Yuushi.

REVIEW?


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